How to Use Balsamic Vinegar: Six Ways Beyond Salad Dressing

"I love it on salad, but what else do I do with it?" We hear some version of that at the tasting counter all the time, usually from someone holding a bottle of balsamic they already like.

The answer is a lot. It ends up on roasted vegetables, pie, cheese boards and, yes, pancakes. Here's how to use balsamic vinegar the way we actually do, with Thanksgiving close enough that most of these will land on your table anyway.

Finish a dish with a few drops

Think of balsamic like a squeeze of lemon. A few drops right before a plate goes to the table keep it bright. Cook it too long and you lose the flavor you bought it for.

The everyday bottle is Old World Traditional Dark Balsamic. It's made in Modena from just grape must and a small amount of red wine vinegar, nothing else, so it tastes like balsamic: deep, sweet, a little tart. Put it on steak, roasted vegetables, or strawberries with fresh mozzarella. Midnight Caramelized Onion Dark Balsamic is the one for burgers and French onion soup. It tastes like onions you stood over for an hour, without the hour.

Glaze what comes out of the oven

Brush it on in the last ten minutes of roasting. Any earlier and the sugars can scorch.

Roasted Rosemary & Onion Dark Balsamic is the one for roast chicken, pork and a pan of root vegetables. Barrel & Maple Dark Balsamic tastes like oak, bourbon and maple, and it's so good on salmon, pork chops and Brussels sprouts. (Brussels sprout skeptics, this one's for you.) If soup is on the menu this month, our Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with a Maple Balsamic Finish ends with a swirl of Barrel & Maple.

Simmer it into a syrup

If you've ever paid extra for a bottle of balsamic glaze, you can make it at home. Pour balsamic into a small pan, keep it at a gentle simmer, and stop when it coats the back of a spoon. Pull it a little early, because it keeps thickening as it cools.

Our One-Ingredient Lush Orchard Balsamic Reduction takes about 15 minutes. Keep it around for cheese boards, roasted squash and ice cream when people drop by.

Pour it over dessert

This is the one that surprises people. Jeweled Cran-Pearberry Fruit Balsamic is a Greek fruit balsamic rested with cranberries and pears: tart first, then a long, ripe pear finish. Pour it over vanilla gelato or warm apple pie with ice cream. And Barrel & Maple on pumpkin pie? Just try it.

If you'd like to taste both with friends first, they're on the pie pairings at Tiles & Pie: A Mahjong Friendsgiving, Tuesday, November 24, 5 to 8 pm, here in Crown Point. The pecan pie gets Citrus Press extra virgin olive oil whipped cream.

Set it out with bread and cheese

This is how we taste in the tasting room, and it works the same at your kitchen island. Pour a little extra virgin olive oil, pour a little balsamic next to it, and put the bread down. Old World Traditional with Tuscan Sun Extra Virgin Olive Oil, co-milled with garlic, rosemary, sage, oregano and basil, is the classic.

For a cheese board, match them up: Midnight Caramelized Onion with sharp cheddar, Cran-Pearberry over goat cheese, Barrel & Maple with brie and pecans. Taste each one on its own, then together. Somebody always finds a combination they didn't expect to love.

Bring it to breakfast

Barrel & Maple goes from the cheese board at night to the pancakes the next morning. Drizzle it on waffles or stir it into oatmeal. And a splash of Jeweled Cran-Pearberry in sparkling water makes a pretty little drink for anyone skipping the wine at Thanksgiving.

All of that is why a bottle of balsamic makes such a good host gift: it actually gets used. Holiday, from our Wrapped Collection, pairs Jeweled Cran-Pearberry with Winter Herb, a seasonal Signature Estate olive oil co-milled with rosemary, sage, thyme and garlic. It comes with an acacia board and a dipping bowl, wrapped in a cream cotton tea cloth, ready to hand over at the door.

It's a pantry staple. It's a gift. It's an experience. Same bottle.