On a recent oil and vinegar tasting, my sister went wild for a chocolate balsamic vinegar. It had a sweet, tangy, and slightly bitter taste. And it made me want to make some for her as a gift (and a little for myself, too!). Here's how:
You can start with an inexpensive balsamic vinegar. Just cook it until it is reduced by half and has become thick enough to coat the pan. The rest is quite simple, producing a special vinegar that's thick, slightly creamy, and perfect for drizzling over ice cream or warm fruit.
Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar
Yields 16 fl. oz., or (4) 4 oz. gift bottles
For the balsamic vinegar (yields 1 cup)
2 cups balsamic vinegar
For the chocolate syrup (yields 1 cup)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
For the balsamic vinegar
Reduce the vinegar by half (from 2 cups to 1 cup) over low heat. This will take approximately 20 minutes, stirring often. The vinegar will thicken and coat its pan. Set aside to cool once reduced. If you start with a better balsamic vinegar, you can skip this step and simply use 1 cup of balsamic straight from the bottle.
For the chocolate syrup
Dissolve sugar and salt into water. Bring to a boil in a small sauce pan. Reduce the heat to low and add cocoa, stirring until a syrup begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Set aside to cool.
Once completely cooled, mix the vinegar and chocolate syrup thoroughly and divide among four 4 oz. sterile glass bottles. I corked the bottles shut and hand-printed labels on adhesive strips to stick on over the top of each bottle for gift-giving.
Related: Recipe Review: Improvisational Cherry Vinegar
(Images: Regina Yunghans)
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Sounds wonderful! Thanks for the gift idea.
At first I was really put off by the idea of this...but then I thought about using it on some fresh summer strawberries...I think I could be convinced!
What do you think the shelf life of this is? I would like to get this done early in December for Christmas gifts but is that a good idea? Or should I wait until the week of? Thanks for the idea!
I hope the original poster doesn't take this the wrong way, but I just made this recipe and had some issues. This might all be subject to personal tastes, but I thought it might be helpful to post my experience.
I was expecting something closer to a liquid consistency, but I actually got a final product that's similar to a very thin chocolate pudding - quite thick and opaque. Not a problem, but I might call it a "chocolate balsamic dip/sauce" instead, because it's definitely a sauce and not what I'd call a vinegar.
The bigger issue for me was that the balsamic flavor gets totally lost in the overwhelming amount of cocoa flavor. I stirred about 1/3 cup unreduced balsamic into the final product and YAY, balsamic/chocolate flavor! so I'm going to try this again with unreduced balsamic, which I think will suit my tastes better.
Anyway.. just one person's experience to consider... DEFINITELY try the recipe, because it's a fantastic, creative idea.. and it seems very flexible to individual tastes.
I tried making it this morning and...perfecto! I followed the recipe exactly as is and didn't have the same problems that lagne had. I'll be making more batches tomorrow - my foodie friends will LOVE this.
where is a good supply place to find small bottles with corks to put the vinegar in? would love to give this a shot for the holidays! Makes a perfect foodie gift, it seems!
Thank you so much for this! I presented it to each of my family members at Christmas this year. Wrapped the top with baker's twine and a little wooden tag. Thanks again!
Anyone ever find out what the shelf life is for this? I too was wanting to give these out as Christmas gifts.
i just made this for a chocolate potluck! simply delicious! i am wondering if folks were storing it in the fridge or in the cupboard. i don't want to keep it in the fridge if it's going to congeal.