Al Centro

It has been a slice

But now it is time to say ‘Goodbye’. Thank you, Edmonton. We will miss you all.... Al Centro has officially closed.

Thank you for the joy.

Thank you for giving us the honour of feeding you.

A Kitchen Staple. and A Beautiful Gift. and A Fancy Menu Item Descriptor.... #Balsamic But what do you really know about it ? Well pour yourself a glass of wine and sit for a spell, because we are going to learn together. #LearningIsFun Traditional balsamic vinegar is the granddaddy of balsamic vinegars. To this day it is only made in Reggio Emilia and Modena, Italy, using traditional methods, and production is overseen from beginning to end by a special certification agency. Traditional balsamic vinegar begins with grape must whole pressed grapes complete with juice, skin, seeds and stems. The must from sweet white locally grown and late-harvested grapes usually Lambrusco or Trebbiano varieties is cooked over a direct flame until concentrated by roughly half, then left to ferment naturally for up to three weeks, and then matured and further concentrated for a minimum of 12 years in a "batteria," or five or more successively smaller aging barrels. These barrels are made of different types of wood such as oak, chestnut, cherry, juniper, and mulberry, so that the vinegar can take on the complex flavors of the casks. Once a year the vinegar is bottled from the smallest cask in the sequence. Each cask is then topped up with vinegar from the next cask up, with the largest cask getting filled with the new yield. None of the casks are ever completely drained. This ageing process is similar to the solera process used for fine sherries, ports, sweet wines, and Spanish brandies. The vinegar gets thicker and more concentrated as it ages because of evaporation that occurs through the walls of the barrelsthe vinegar the smallest barrel will be much thicker and more syrupy than the liquid in the successively larger barrels. (seriouseats.com) Roll out some of those facts at your next dinner party Just one of the MANY cool things we have in our #AlCentro #Market