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, my vinegar makers do not feel the need to go through the hassle of the process. We all know how good the vinegar is without having to go through the process. Compare my 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!
Do we ship our Products?
We ship all of our products via ground. Please allow 5 to 10 business days for deliveries.
***To order more than 5 cases (30 or more bottle) please call our office (1-888-702-4323) to discuss quantity discounts and shipping options.
Where is my Olive oil from?
My oil is 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. I am blessed to have found this oil. I tried to purchase from California vendors, but the prices were outrageous. So, I 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. Cool, huh?
Are these all my recipes and is this my company?
All the blends that you can purchase from us are my recipes and I proudly admit that I bring in the vinegar for all my 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 my vinegar and I proudly sell it by itself also as my Heirloom Balsamic. - I am selling quality food products at fair prices. I don't gouge because everyone else does. I am creating a niche market where anyone can feel good that they are not getting ripped off just because everyone else overcharges. That's not how we do business at John Spenger Foods.
What are my best sellers?
My best sellers are as follows:
#1 My newest flavor, the Thai-Sesame Ginger. Amazing as a finishing dressing for pastas as well as all chicken and salmon dishes. I put it over stuffed salmon the other night and it was amazing. I also marinated my pork loin for 24 hours and the juices just flew when I fork-cut it. It was AMAZING!
#2 The Basil Garlic Parmesan. Folks, this was my all time best seller until I introduced the Thai. This recipe is perfect on any seafood, shellfish or pasta. Any white meats or vegetables as a finishing oil, also. l "Zippy, " as Joey Altman put it.
#3 My 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 my third best seller. And, I might add, a revised version of the next best seller. The only difference between this recipe and the #4, is the fact that I added Sun Dried Tomatoes.
So, #4: The all amazing, ever popular, Garlic Balsamic BISTRO OIL! - The one that started it all - My personal favorite only because (And you have heard me say this before) " If it weren't for this recipe, I would have nothing," That was a quarter of a million bottles ago. This recipe was created while I 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 I started John Spenger Foods and Bistro Blends. This was why. Period. Oh and don't try to name drop, because a year after I created the recipe, I quit the restaurant. Only a few mangers know who I am since I quit the restaurant in '98. So, anyway, the Bistro Oil has fallen to number four and that's OK.
