Frequently Asked Questions
What is Balsamic Vinegar?
Balsamic Vinegar is essentially barrel-aged grape juice that has been slow-cooked over an open flame and then barrel-aged. The vinegar is naturally dark because of the sweet grapes used to make the vinegar. During the cooking process, the sugar in the juice caramelizes and that is why balsamic is dark. Imitation vinegar's are made from distilled rice vinegar and are very pungent and sharp to the taste. They also add caramel coloring and flavoring to resemble authentic balsamic.
The reasons why true balsamic vinegar is so expensive are : 1) Usually, the consorzio approved balsamic come into the country already labeled, so the tax on these products is usually 100% of the value. A consorzio approved balsamic is a vinegar that has gone through a rigorous tasting panel of state experts that will approve or disapprove a vinegar. If they approve your balsamic, then you are basically thrown into another higher quality category that allows you to charge much more for your vinegar if you are a producer. It is an honor to be approved by the consorzios (there are two of them in Italy, and they are a state-based program).
Our vinegar is of amazing quality, but since the cost of getting approved is so high, our vinegar makers do not feel the need to go through the hassle of the process. Compare our vinegar to anyone else's. You can do this by looking at the side of the bottle when you tip it. If it leaves "legs," then it is a good vinegar. From the aging process, it should be thick and stick to the edges of the bottle or glass. This is good!
What is the shelf life of our products?
All of our quality products are shelf stable and therefore can be stored in a cool dry place for many years. However, for sensory shelf life (aroma, flavor, texture) we recommend that;
- Our oils, vinegars and marinades, are consumed within 18 months of production. Our products are bottled every month, hence why our customers love our products. Products are always shipped fresh every month to our distributors.
- Olive oils should be kept in a cool, dry place to avoid going rancid quickly. Olive oil will keep longer in the refrigerator, but will congeal and need to be warmed up before using.
Do we ship our Products?
We ship all of our products via ground. Please allow 7 to 10 business days for deliveries.
Where does the Olive Oil come from?
Bistro Blends buys our oil from Lerida, Spain. It is cold-pressed 100% extra virgin olive oil from the Arbequina Olives. It is a wonderfully fruity and full-flavored oil. We tried to purchase from California vendors, but the prices were outrageous. So, we went to the largest producer of olive oil in the world-Spain. They produce 215 million gallons annually. It takes 42 to 65 pounds of olives to make one gallon of extra-virgin olive oil.
Who created the recipes for your products?
All the blends that you can purchase from us are recipes created by John Spenger and we proudly admit that we import the vinegar for all our products. If you want the best, you go where they make the best and that was Modena, Italy. Three brothers and a sister make all our vinegar and we proudly sell it by itself (as our Heirloom Balsamic). We are all about selling quality food products at fair prices.
What are our best sellers?
Our best sellers are as follows:
#1 our newest flavor, the Thai-Sesame Ginger. Amazing as a finishing dressing for pastas as well as all chicken and salmon dishes. We tried it over stuffed salmon and it is amazing. You can also marinate pork loin for 24 hours and the juices just flow when you fork-cut it. It is AMAZING!
#2 The Basil Garlic Parmesan. Folks, this was our all-time best seller until we introduced the Thai. This recipe is perfect on any seafood, shellfish or pasta. Any white meats or vegetables as a finishing oil, also. "Zippy" as Joey Altman put it.
#3 Sun Dried Tomato Balsamic. This goes great on salads and is also perfect as marinade or just to finish sliced tomatoes with Mozzarella and Basil. Huge flavor. Arguably our third best seller. And, we might add, a revised version of the next best seller. The only difference between this recipe and the #4, is the fact that we added Sun Dried Tomatoes.
So, #4: The all-amazing, ever-popular, Garlic Balsamic BISTRO OIL! - The one that started it all - Our personal favorite only because (And you have heard us say this before) " if it weren't for this recipe, we would have nothing," That was a quarter of a million bottles ago. This recipe was created by John Spenger while he worked at Scala's Bistro in San Francisco. If you go to this restaurant today, and ask for a Bistro Oil, they will turn around and bring you back a fresh version, (Real garlic), not infused, and you will be eating the original recipe that was the reason that he created Bistro Blends. So, anyway, the Bistro Oil has fallen to number four and that's OK.
