CATEGORY
Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
2009 CHEFSBEST® AWARD FOR BEST TASTE WINNER
Newman's Own
What Makes a Great Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing?
Balsamic vinaigrette dressing adds a delightful zing to your salad, but it has a multitude of other uses. Try it as a marinade for fish and shrimp or drizzle it over slices of tomato and mozzarella. For those who still can’t get enough of the taste, use it as a dip for your favorite baguette.
Our chefs define high-quality balsamic vinaigrette dressing as having a rich brown color. Its moderate aroma will have a complex character that includes rounded and sweet notes of balsamic vinegar, herbs, spices and oil. Rancid oil and other off notes should not be detected.
Balsamic vinaigrette dressing is in taste balance when sourness is the leading basic taste. Moderate saltiness will follow, joined by a low level of sweetness. There should be no bitterness in high-quality balsamic vinaigrette.
Bold balsamic vinegar flavor should lead the flavor profile, followed by seasoning flavor. Oil flavor will be next, coming in at half the level of the seasoning. These flavors will work together to create a flavor-balanced balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The flavor character will be as complex as the aroma character, with rounded sweetness and a blend of dried fruit, wood and nutty notes flowing through.
Balsamic vinaigrette should have a medium-thick viscosity and a ratio of about 75 percent oil to 25 percent vinegar. The dressing should not have an excessively oily mouthfeel. When tossed into a salad, balsamic vinaigrette should complement the lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and other ingredients, making an impression without overwhelming the salad as a whole. One should be able to detect all the components of the salad without the balsamic vinaigrette dominating the experience.
Product Category Definition
The category judged was defined as shelf-stable balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing for the consumer market, not including other shelf-stable salad dressings (such Italian, ranch, Caesar, etc.), refrigerated salad dressings, salad dressing mixes or vinegars (such as balsamic, red or white wine vinegar).
Other Leading Brands:
Wish-Bone, Kraft Foods, Ken’s Steak House
ONE-STEP IDEAS
Mash a couple tablespoons into a ripe avocado for Italian-style guacamole.
Toss with cooked pasta and vegetables for a zingy pasta salad.
Makes a great marinade for chicken, pork or beef.
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TASTING
TERMINOLOGY
PRODUCT
FUN FACTS
- Balsamic vinegar was used as a disinfectant during the Middle Ages.
- In Italy, balsamic vinegar is only aged in wooden casks made of oak, cherry, chestnut, juniper, acacia, mulberry and ash.
- The word “salad” comes from the French word salade, which has Latin origins.
The ChefsBest Award for Best Taste is awarded to the brand rated highest overall among leading brands by independent professional chefs.
