Belazu Balsamic Pearls - tangy jewels of deliciousness

Well, again, it's been a while - you have a trip to Barcelona and a major project at work to thank for that - but my rest has been broken in a pleasingly sharp, mouthwatering manner. Those lovely people at Belazu sent me some of their latest creation to try, namely a jar of their balsamic pearls. Yes, you heard me right - little pearls of balsamic vinegar.

Before I get to the pearls, I must first ask whether you have tried their balsamic vinegar? No? Then you have been missing an essential gourmet experience, my friend! I have long been a lover of vinegars to add acetic tang to a meal, right back to when I was a mere lardball-in-waiting at school, when my favourite pack-up would be peanut butter and home-made pickled onion sandwiches on bloomer bread. Before you recoil in horror, try it. You'd be surprised. The sharpness of the vinegar cuts through the cloying peanut butter like a thermic lance through a steel safe. I had a fondness for dipping bread crusts in pickle vinegar, putting beetroot vinegar straight from the jar in my mothers lovingly served stews, and perhaps slightly weirdly, dipping Milky Ways in ketchup. I had a preference for cheap ketchup (which has never quite left) for the tang factor alone.

Needless to say, as I've grown older and educated my palate, my tastes have become more refined. I progressed from harsh malt pickling vinegar to tarragon vinegar, on to sherry vinegar, cabernet vinegar, cider vinegar, black rice vinegar, and of course, the king of vinegars, Balsamic Vinegar, from Modena. I love that balsamic is now such a staple in our cupboards that Waitrose see fit to put it in their 'essentials' range. I've tried many balsamics in my time, but undoubtedly the best vinegar on the shelves today is Belazu Balsamic Vinegar. I have never experienced such a deliciously sweet, unctuous vinegar in my life. If you've tried a balsamic 'glaze' and enjoyed it, you'd be in heaven with this. It has a natural sweetness coupled with a depth of flavour and almost syrupy viscosity that even the best manufactured glaze cannot compare to. It's worth every penny in my book, despite it's higher price tag. Once you've had Belazu, anything else just tastes like a watered-down substitute for a balsamic vinegar. One can see why those chefs with stars are so enamoured of it.

So how exciting, then, that Belazu have taken it upon themselves to take the balsamic journey a step further - by encapsulating this ambrosial fluid into little black pearls of sweetly luscious tang.

Spherification is one of those cheffy things we see on the television programmes that has often seemed a tad out of reach. Something we have to buy a kit for, something a bit gimmicky, something that most hard-pressed, time-starved wage-slaves amongst us are happy to have served up to us in Michelineries, but simply don't have the time to create at home. It also takes a bit of practice to get right, by all accounts. So even if you did fancy a bit of spherifrippery, it's likely to be somewhat hit and miss. Which is part of the genius of Belazu Balsamic Pearls - these little black jewels are visually stunning, taste amazing, but come out of a jar! A JAR! How perfect could it be? (Hint: not much more perfect than that).

The minute I saw these delightful little spheres in knew immediately what I wanted to do with them. I would make a salad of pancetta cubes, fried until crispy and a couple of Burford Browns (care of Clarence Court, natch), which sits atop some toasted ciabatta slices, which has in turn been given a scrub with a garlic clove. This is then topped with some peppery mixed leaves, a chopped, de-seeded red chilli, and some rings of shallot. It is then usually libated with balsamic vinegar. Oil is not needed due to the fried eggs and bacon.

Now, as delicious as it is, the vinegar does have a tendency to run once devouring commences, but I hoped that the pearls would maintain their integrity a little longer, adding to the visual appeal of the dish. I was not wrong! Given the way they yield to pressure between your teeth and burst with flavour in your mouth, I worried they might collapse upon contact with heat, or salt, or some other suspected slayer of spherification as yet unidentified, but I need not have worried. They are curiously robust. I've included a picture of the half-eaten plate so you can see exactly how well they maintain their shape throughout the plates 'journey' from plate to belly via gob.

I cannot recommend these little blighters strongly enough. They lend themselves to such a variety of applications, you are only limited by your imagination. The next plan is a strawberry cheesecake, studded with these tiny obsidian jewels. If Belazu Balsamic Vinegar verged on perfect, then Belazu Balsamic Pearls are surely a legend in their own lifetime. Try them - you will not be disappointed. 

Warm salad of pancetta and eggs with balsamic pearls
You will note a lack of salt and pepper in this dish - this is deliberate. The pancetta provides enough salt, and any pepper would, in my opinion, detract from the delicate flavour of the vinegar. But if you feel the need, go ahead!


70g pancetta cubes
2 Burford Brown eggs, fried
1 small shallot
1 small mild red chilli, deseeded and chopped
half ciabatta, or 2 slices of ciabatta from a large loaf, toasted
handful or two of fancy leaves 
a clove of garlic
Belazu Balsamic Pearls
1 tbsp olive oil
6 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:
1) Fry pancetta cubes until crispy. Drain in some kitchen paper to remove excess oil.
2) Toast the ciabatta until some of the edges have caught.
3) Take a clove of garlic and rub the surface of the ciabatta.
4) Place the leaves over the ciabatta
5) Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and cook the eggs until the white has set, but the yolks are still runny.
6) Place the cooked eggs, drained of excess oil, on top of the leaves, and scatter over the pancetta, chilli and shallot rings.
7) Scatter over the balsamic pearls
8) Devour, greedily.