You have just concluded a lovely dinner. Your most gracious host has suggested an after-dinner aperitif and asks what your pleasure is. Savoring the meal, you take a moment to reflect on what you might select when your host turns to you and says, "How about a fine glass of balsamic vinegar?"
It is not the joke it once might have been. A true aged balsamic - the kind drawn from casks over decades in Modena - is syrupy, complex, and sweet enough to sip like a liqueur, worlds away from the sharp supermarket bottle of the same name.
The same quiet revolution has come for olive oils, salts, and honeys: the humble condiment, taken seriously, has become one of the table's real pleasures. Stock your pantry with a few great ones, and even a simple meal begins to taste like an occasion.
Originally published in View AZ Highlife Magazine, Spring 2008.