Steak Wrap

I love having leftovers for lunch. This steak wrap combined the meat left over from our barbecue with the idea of lettuce wraps from Sunday. And while it does make a pretty picture (and it tasted great also), this post is really about balsamic vinegar.

For Christmas, Wayne went to a fancy store in the mall and bought some expensive balsamic vinegar, along with a bottle of flavored olive oil. When we finally finished the bottle of balsamic vinegar in the cupboard (one picked up at the grocery store), and opened the new bottle, we noticed that it was much thicker, but otherwise didn't pay too much attention to it.

After drizzling some of the vinegar on his wrap (chosen because it was an ingredient in the marinade and we thought it would be a nice complement), he wondered what "grape must" (on the label) was. I supposed it was a product of pressing grapes, probably something to do with the skins and seeds, and it turns out I was close.

According to Wikipedia:

Grape must is the freshly crushed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems. Making must is the first step in winemaking. Unlike commercially sold grape juice, which is filtered and pasteurized, must is thick with particulate matter, opaque, and comes in various shades of brown and purple.

I also decided to do a search on balsamic vinegar itself and found this interesting article from Huffington Post. In it I learned why this bottle is so much nicer, and more expensive. First, it did come from Modena, Italy. Second, it takes at least 12 years to make balsamic vinegar, and the longer it sits, the thicker it gets. In addition, over time, the vinegar is transferred from one barrel to another, and using different woods for that process infuses additional flavor. 

Until opening this bottle, I never really was a fan of balsamic vinegar, but I've quite enjoyed the recent recipes we've made with this ingredient. Now I know why.