Balsamic Reduction Recipe
- By Chef Billy Parisi
- Updated
Enhance the flavor of your food by making this easy to prepare balsamic reduction that goes excellent on steak, chicken, seafood, or vegetables.
We always joke around how we like a little protein with our sauces when eating a meal. It doesn’t matter if it’s a tartar sauce, beurre blanc, or a Pomodoro sauce, we always want extra!
Balsamic Reduction
I’ve been making balsamic reduction for over 20 years. It’s one the first sauces I learned to perfect as we served it with a number of things on the menus of restaurants I used to work at. It’s a fantastic way to enhance the flavor of whatever you’re making and is very simple to make with my foolproof procedures.
When you reduce balsamic vinegar, you’re concentrating the flavors and viscosity into a thick syrup making it extremely flavorful. If you do make this and use it just know that a little bit goes a long way.
Is Glaze the Same as Reduction?
While you can find pre-made glazes at the grocery store, it is actually different than a real reduction. Companies are in the business of making money so if they reduce all of the vinegar to a small concentrated amount it will be very expensive to make and sell. Instead, they thicken the balsamic vinegar using a thickening agent to help save costs and preserve some flavor.
In my personal opinion, you don’t use all that much of it because it’s so potent in flavor so it’s just better to make it homemade from scratch and do a proper balsamic reduction.
How to Make It
Many recipes out there will just tell you to reduce the amount of liquid by 75% or until it becomes thick like syrup. Doing this process becomes a way to hit or miss, so I’ve got it down to the perfect temperature.
- Start by adding balsamic vinegar and the juice of 1 lemon to a medium-size saucepot.
- Cook the balsamic vinegar over medium-low heat until it reaches 226° F.
- Immediately remove the vinegar and transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cold and thick, about 2 hours.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 1 week ahead of time.
How to Store: Cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
chef notes + tips
- You can get a good balsamic vinegar bottle for around $10. Sometimes if it’s ar really cheap bottle it can be a little bitter.
- No matter what you reduce the flavors can oftentimes become vinegar and lemon juice not only helps to counter the bitterness but also adds some nice citrus flavors as well.
- Reduced Balsamic goes excellent with fresh strawberries as well as with vanilla ice cream.
Here’s What to Use It In
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Video
Balsamic Reduction Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups balsamic vinegar
- juice of 1 lemon, optional
Instructions
- Add the vinegar and lemon juice to a medium-size pot.
- Cook over medium-high to high heat until it reaches 226° F. If you feel it is cooking too quickly, adjust the heat down to medium. Be sure to watch it, as it can turn quickly.
- Chill the sauce in the refrigerator until cold, about 2 hours, and serve.
Thank you, chef. On the video you say crank it to high heat but the recipe says low to medium. Can you please clarify the heat control for this recipe? I tried it on high and it boiled within a few minutes but didn’t quite get the right consistency.
medium high to high. You have to wait until it cools down, it will not be right the second you take it off the heat.