[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Some facts about Traditional Balsamic of Modena, since it looks like there's some confusion and this is actually cool info.

Traditional balsamic of modena is NOT balsamic glaze. As I said, it is grape must (which means - the crushed grape, including seeds, stems, fruit, and skins) that has been heated and reduced until it is a thick syrup. It is then filtered to get rid of any remaining solids. Then a naturally-occurring bacteria is encouraged to grow, which turns it into a vinegar (rather than a jam or wine). The entire vat is then aged for a minimum of 12 years in a wooden keg. It has NOTHING in it other than grape must, no other ingredients, no sugar added, and even the bacteria that turns it to vinegar is not added - it is part of the natural fermenting process.

A tablespoon of traditional balsamic has around 4 carbs. One tablespoon of this, will be enough to make a salad dressing for 4 people. It is naturally sweet, but also tart. Balsamic glaze was made to try and emulate the consistency and taste of traditional balsamic but fails, full stop. Glaze is fine drizzled on grilled chicken but it just can't match the depth of the real deal.

The term "traditional" has actual significance, it means something very specific. If you're buying something called "aged Balsamic Vinegar de Modena" you are not buying traditional balsamic. And even more confusing, some companies in the USA will put a label on their vinegar and call it traditional, but it isn't. Aged balsamic would have become traditional, except they added some grape wine to the batch to extend it and thin it out. If it's made in the USA, it's not traditional balsamic de Modena. Colavita for example - is just wine vinegar with balsamic in it to give it a little smoky flavor.

For whoever claims that no one actually likes it, I'll suggest that whoever presented it to you was either a) using a glaze and claiming or believing they were using traditional balsamic, or b) using the wrong proportions of the real thing and ruining the dish.

My recipe for the salad - enough for 8 people getting a side-salad with dinner:

Wild field greens (aka mesclun aka weed salad - dandelion greens, chickweed, chicory, wild mustard greens, etc).
Good quality gorgonzola cheese, crumbled - around 1/3 cup [edit - I typoed, said 1/4 but meant 1/3. Fixed]
candied pecans, in small pieces, around 1/4 cup
cherry (not grape) tomatoes, thin-skinned, cut in half (1/2 to 2/3 pint, depending on size of the tomatoes)

Dressing:

2 tablespoons traditional balsamic de modena
6 tablespoons olive oil - whichever you prefer for your salads. I use full-bodied but light is fine
3 cloves FRESH minced garlic
a few twists from a black peppermill
a couple pinches of recently-dried, crushed oregano leaves (not the old crap from the jar, I mean the stuff you steal from your neighbor's herb garden when you think she's not looking but she actually hopes you take it to prevent overgrowth)
1 pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon filtered or spring water (not directly from the tap, that just tastes nasty).

The water emulsifies and thickens the dressing so the oil and vinegar take a lot longer to separate.

Whip it all up with a teaspoon in a pudding cup, and then dump the dressing over the salad. Cover the salad bowl, shake it to make sure it all gets coated and all the other ingredients are evenly distributed.

You can make a dinner salad with this by adding blackened grilled chicken or steak strips. I've experimented and decided it does -not- taste all that great with fish, though it might be interesting with lobster or crab since both can stand up to gorgonzola pretty nicely.