The team over at Mandarano Balsamic Glaze & Sauce, graciously asked if I be interested in doing a product review. Of course, I was excited to give it a try since I have become obsessed with aged balsamic in the past year. If you have never had an “aged” balsamic and think of only the vinegar style, you are in for a life changing treat.
Balsamic vinegar has long been a staple in my pantry. I always have a large bottle up on the shelf. Sometimes it’s plain old vinegar, sometimes there are random herbs shoved into the bottle for an infusion, what can I say… we know how to party. Balsamic has many uses in our house, as a dressing, a marinade for veggies or meat, drizzled on a top of a few slices fresh mozzarella for a caprice salad, the list goes on. Usually, I have the plain old vinegar style, which can be a tad acidic if drizzling straight onto a salad, hence the herbs shoved into the bottle! So, imagine my joy when I discovered “aged balsamic”.
I was SO excited to get my bottle of Mandarano last week and start trying it at…well ever meal actually. In case you were wondering, the answer is yes, it is delicious with scrambled eggs, fresh basil and avocado toast. It’s much thicker and has a much richer flavor so a little goes a long way with an aged balsamic, or a balsamic glaze. When you first open the bottle, you can smell the vinegar qualities of the balsamic, but once you taste it you’ll find the slight sweetness that perfectly compliments the molasses like texture. Mandarano uses a proprietary blend of 25, 12, and 2 year aged balsamic vinegar and the entire process, grape growing, bottling and production, all happen in Modena, Italy. And if you thought it couldn’t get any better, it’s quite affordable! You can order it HERE from Amazon.com or directly from the Mandarano website HERE. They also have a few delicious recipes using the balsamic glaze posted HERE. I can’t wait to try the Caprese style portobellos with Mandarano balsamic.
As I said, I’ve been trying my balsamic glaze on just about every meal and while I don’t have lovely pictures to show you, because I was too busy scarfing down the amazing meal. For dinner one night, I drizzled it over prosciutto wrapped chicken and asparagus and it was the perfect finishing touch, adding just the sweetness and flavor that the dish needed!
But my favorite recipe, by far, were the White Nectarine, Mozzarella, Basil and Balsamic “stacks” I made one afternoon for a quick patio happy hour treat. The bag of white nectarines were finally ripe, so I walked down to our Italian market, DeLaurenti, and picked up a few of their fresh house made mozzarella balls and some fresh basil and used my bottle of Mandarano balsamic glaze to make these delicious treat! Recipe was posted yesterday HERE, but I wanted to include it below so you could see how lovely it turned out, the the glaze drizzled over the top!
White Nectarine, Mozzarella, Basil, Balsamic “Stacks”
Serves two
2 ripe, but slightly firm white nectarines
2 fresh mozzarella balls
1 bunch fresh basil, washed
Mandarano balsamic glaze
Wash the nectarines and basil, laying the basil out on a paper towel to pat dry. Slice the bottoms of the nectarines, then carefully slice so you have layers to stack. Taking a sharp knife, slice the mozzarella balls. Stack up the ingredients, starting with a slice of the white nectarine and alternating the other ingredients until you have your “stack” created. Drizzle with the balsamic glaze and enjoy!
