The Versatile, Editor-Loved Ingredient That Will Make Any Desk Lunch So Much More Delicious

I’m no culinary expert, but I have picked up a few tips over the years that have helped make my home cooking not just tolerable, but in many cases, quite tasty. My biggest hack is really no hack at all; basically, it’s to just add a sauce to whatever you’re making. Is your sandwich too dry? Smother on some aioli. Did you overcook your noodles? Some extra pesto should help cover that up. When in doubt, get saucy with it. And yes, runnier substances such as oil and vinegar can certainly qualify as sauces — just ask our editors. Many of them are huge fans of Brightland, the brand behind the delicious olive oils and vinegars that you can add to a wide variety of foods. Their Rapture balsamic vinegar, in particular, is a bit of a splurge, but totally worth it. For an effortlessly delicious homemade lunch, you’ll definitely want to get your hands on a bottle.

Double-fermented with grapes and ripe blackberries, Rapture has a sweet, fresh, and summery taste that’ll enhance but not overpower whatever you add it to. Managing commerce editor Tamara Kraus always keeps a bottle in her cabinet because it’s the key ingredient in her favorite salad dressing. “Having Rapture on hand instantly took the flavor to the next level,” she wrote after adding it to her go-to salad recipe. “The zesty-yet-sweet dressing combined with these ingredients basically made my tastebuds dance in the best way possible.” Although salads are the most obvious choice for employing this luxurious vinegar, there’s virtually no limit to the ways in which you can use it. Drizzle some onto chicken or veggies before baking, dip a fresh baguette in the substance, or create a glaze for your next seafood meal. Some Brightland customers even mix it into cocktails!

Aside from its unique taste, Rapture is a standout because, like all of Brightland’s products, its ingredients are grown on a nutrient-dense, family owned farm and minimally processed. The vinegar contains organic cane sugar and no artificial additives, which is reflected in its flavor. “I ordered one of the olive oils and balsamic vinegar,” one reviewer noted. “They both are far superior to any other olive oil or balsamic vinegar we have purchased. Both are very ‘clean’ tasting.” After buying you’re own bottle of the balsamic, we can almost guarantee you’ll look forward to doing more at-home cooking (and eating).

Buy: Rapture, $22