PAN Balsamic Vinegar (250ml)

Vinegar has a history of more than 5,000 years, and with its first traces founded in Egypt and Mesopotamia dating back to before 3000 BC, it is probably the first flavour that man used to add to his food to make it more tasty.

PAN Zafiropoulos is one of the leading producers of vinegar and related products in Greece, holding a significant share of the Greek market and a leading share. For around 50 years it has been producing, bottling and offering fine vinegar.

Balsamic vinegar is a special category of vinegar. According to Greek legislation, it is produced either from wine that has been converted into vinegar and to which concentrated grape must has been added, or from the extraction of dried raisins. PAN Zafiropoulos produces using the second method, because it offers a natural sweetness and a more stable colour. The name balsamic vinegar, as it has passed into most European languages, suggests that it may have originally been used as a medicine, and it seems that in some form it was not unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans. 

The term 'balsamic' comes from the  Italian word balsamico which in terms comes from the Latin word balsamum and the Greek word βάλσαμον / bálsamon, and means "balsam-like" in the sense of "restorative" or "curative" such as in the English word 'balm'.  Traditional balsamic vinegar is made from sweet white grapes, often the Lambrusco or Trebbiano varieties. The grapes are pressed whole — including the stems, seeds and juice — and then cooked over a flame until reduced by half. They are left to ferment naturally for up to three weeks.