You live and learn. My goal today was to make a balsamic reduction that I could drizzle on an appetizer I was making. I have made the reduction before. It’s pretty simple...dark balsamic vinegar and sugar...simmer until it reduces by half into a syrup-like consistency. But this time I was inspired to try adding cranberry juice for a little twist.
Chef Husband gave me a proposed ratio of the three ingredients to try and I confidently grabbed my heavy bottom saucepan and started my simmer. Things were going well and the flavor seemed to be developing nicely, but it was taking forever to reduce because of the additional water content from the juice. Dinner was approaching and my impatience cranked up the heat to a rolling boil. It foamed and frothed and thickened quickly and I pulled it off and poured it into a dish to cool. However, it seems I went a little too far and instead made soft-crack candy. Oops. In the end, I ended up grabbing a squirt bottle of store-bought balsamic glaze to finish my appetizer.
Tomorrow I get to figure out how to melt the rock glob and (hopefully) rescue the spoon and glass bowl that are now fused together.
Until next time...
Culinarily Yours,