My mom gifted me a bottle of this phenomenal balsamic vinegar a couple of summers ago while she went on a beach trip to Anna Maria. Down in Sarasota there is a quaint area called St. Armand's Circle that is a round-about dotted with niche shops and restaurants and artwork. The Florida Olive Oil Company is one such store. When the last drops of my precious kiwi infused balsamic vinegar released from the mouth of the bottle and splashed onto my salad, a tear released from my eye as well. Ok, no. But I was pretty bummed until I googled that beast to see if I could locate some. I love the interwebz. Sure enough, Florida Olive Oil Company has a website. I ordered another kiwi bottle (eyeballed the lavender one too but with held) and plopped two exotic salts that were on sale in there as well.
The salts were on sale for $3.50. I chose Cypress Black Lava Sea Salt and Smoked Serrano Sea Salt.
The black salt is thin and crisp. No flavoring added but it seems to be more clear and distinct in its saltiness. Plans for sprinkling this on candies and chocolates for the holidays come to mind.
Smoked Serrano has a peppery blast of spiciness that tastes great sprinkled over chicken breast.
I wanted to illustrate how viscous the infused balsamic is (right) over the generic store brand balsamic (left). The kiwi infused balsamic is thick, dark, sweet and tangy. My jaw muscles pinch just thinking about it. The flavor is lovely and a little goes a long way.
For a quick dressing I drizzle extra virgin olive oil, kiwi infused balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of lime and cracked pepper and sea salt over a salad. This flavor is excellent with berries. Here I made a salad of chicken breast, strawberries, champagne grapes, raspberries, and goat cheese on a bed of greens.
Kiwi infused balsamic sounds so good! The salt looks beautiful too. And that salad....mouthwatering! We have a local company here called The Olive Tap that has a ton of flavored oils and vinegars. In my current vinegar rotation are coconut white balsamic, cinnamon pear balsamic and serrano pepper honey baslamic. I just saw that they have a lavender one too, I think I will try it next time =) They always have a booth at our local farmer's market so I'm addicted! I could also drink their Tuscan Herb olive oil by the gallon. Have been making kale chips with it practically every day this summer and have gone through two bottles already!!
ReplyDeleteOh wow!! Those balsamics sound so divine. I think I will try the lavender one and a flavored Olive oil next time too. Mmmm... Kale chips. I have only bought them, never made them. Do you have a particular recipe you use?
DeleteLove those vinegars and oils . . . I use peach and raspberry.
ReplyDeleteDid you get any Beezy tarts yesterday?
Hi Leigh! I bet mixing some of the fruity ones would make an amazing dressing. Those sound delicious.
DeleteI did! Only five scent shots. The one I was really jonesing for (pipe smoke) was gone in a flash!!! But one day :-) Did you get anything?