On pulling rabbits out of hats – adventures with balsamic vinegar

copyright the Chronicle July 29, 2015

by Elizabeth Trail

“Try this, you won’t believe it,” said my mother, pushing a small bowl of thinly sliced strawberries toward me. She had the look on her face of someone about to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

I plop food on a plate; my mother creates edible art. I eyed the berries skeptically. These were in a footed glass bowl, garnished with a sprig of mint. The fruit looked dark and glossy, but the lighter inner parts were slightly orange, and there was undeniably a brown liquid in the bottom of the bowl. Not a color I usually associate with summer fruit salad, however elegantly presented.

Mom couldn’t hold the secret for long.”

“It’s balsamic vinegar,” she said triumphantly. “It makes the strawberries taste incredible.

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