Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar: the perfect duo!

As summer begins and the big salads come out, it's time for the perfect condiment duo of the Mediterranean diet: extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Olive oil is rich in polyphenols and good fats that keep the cardiovascular system healthy and young. It's a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant, and combined with vinegar it helps normalize blood sugar and favors the assimilation of more vitamins. Just one teaspoon a day is enough for real health benefits: better digestion, lower cholesterol, and almost no fat, since extra virgin olive oil must have an acidity value no higher than 0.8%.

Our extra virgin olive oil

What makes Tenuta Torciano's oil special

Tenuta Torciano's extra virgin olive oil owes its quality to the soil where our olive trees grow, which has a very alkaline pH, and to cold extraction performed exclusively by mechanical systems. Together they give a final product with a notably low acidity and a unique flavor. Extra-virgin also means "first pressing": it takes about 5 kg of olives to make one liter of our oil. It contains antioxidant compounds that protect it from rancidity, and if you store it correctly, away from light or heat, it keeps unchanged for 12 to 18 months.

In the kitchen

How to use it at the table

This oil suits every culinary use, from a simple dressing to frying. Try it on a slice of toasted bread, our Bruschetta, or on fresh pasta; it works just as well on a salad or on quality meat — Fiorentina Steak is the best match. It's also wonderful with white meats, with fish, and with a delicious carpaccio. This blond nectar is the perfect condiment for every type of food.

The other half of the duo

Tenuta Torciano's balsamic vinegar

When a dish needs a little more acidity, roundness and complexity, balsamic vinegar comes into play. Tenuta Torciano loves this condiment for its versatility, density and flavor. It's made from the acetification of fermented grape must, fermented in tanks where the sugar turns into alcohol, then aged in small oak, cherry, mulberry or juniper barrels for anywhere from 12 to 30 years.

Our selected balsamic vinegar, aged 30 years, has a sweet and sour aroma with notes of molasses and hints of fruit: sweet and fruity on the tip of the tongue, with a pleasant acidity that creates a sweet-sour interplay on the mid-palate. The balance leans slightly toward the sweet side. A vinegar this aged is perfect on vegetables, to flavor rice dishes, soups, meat, fish and salad; it's also a delicacy with soft and aged cheeses, caviar and shellfish, strawberries and fresh fruit in general, ice cream and frozen desserts, and even a valuable ingredient for tasty cocktails. This brown nectar can also be enjoyed on its own, pure, after a meal, thanks to its digestive properties.

The word "balsamic" was born in the eighteenth century, when important healing properties were attributed to this nectar. Today it simply forms, together with olive oil, the most winning combination in condiments all over the world.

Discover all our gourmet products directly on our website, together with the special spring offers.