Vinegar (balsamic)

Why vinegar (balsamic) is rated low

Balsamic vinegar is low at about 1¾ tablespoons (35mL). At larger portions it moves to moderate and at much larger portions it is high, as excess fructose builds with a bigger pour. Balsamic is concentrated grape must aged down to a syrupy vinegar, so this is a story about how much goes on the plate. As a light drizzle over salad or roasted vegetables it sits comfortably low. Poured with a heavy hand, or used as the base of a dressing you keep going back to, it climbs.

What changes your risk

• Serving size This is the whole story for balsamic. About 1¾ tablespoons (35mL) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high, so the difference between low and high is how long you tip the bottle.
• Dressings and marinades multiply it A drizzle over a plate is well under the low serve. The same bottle whisked into a dressing for a big bowl, then spooned generously, can quietly get you past about 1¾ tablespoons (35mL) without it ever looking like much.
• The rest of the meal Excess fructose is what builds in balsamic, so honey in a glaze or fruit such as apple or mango in the same meal adds to the same total. What you pour it over, and what else is on the table, decides how the meal adds up.
• Glazes and reductions are a different product A bottled balsamic glaze has been thickened and usually sweetened, so it is not the same thing as the vinegar rated here. Read the label rather than assuming it behaves the same way.
• Bottled vinaigrettes hide aromatics Supermarket balsamic dressings frequently list onion powder, garlic powder or honey. The vinegar is not the only issue in those bottles, the additions are.

What else works

If you want more acid on the plate than about 1¾ tablespoons (35mL) of balsamic allows, plain red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice vinegar and lemon juice all fill the same role, and none of them carries balsamic's sweetness, which is what gives it its punch in small amounts. Olive oil with lemon and a pinch of salt makes a dressing that needs no balsamic at all, and garlic-infused oil adds the savoury depth people often reach to a bottled vinaigrette for. The things to look past are the close cousins that people assume are equivalent: balsamic glaze and sweet balsamic reductions are thickened, sweetened products rather than this vinegar, bottled balsamic vinaigrettes usually bring onion or garlic powder with them, and a honey and balsamic dressing adds to the same problem.

How to keep it low

Buy a balsamic good enough that a light drizzle is enough, because a thin, sharp one tempts you to keep pouring to get the same flavour. Dress food at the plate rather than tossing a whole salad in the bowl, since that keeps your own serving where you want it and stops the vinegar soaking invisibly into everything. Measuring is easier than eyeballing: pour into a spoon and drizzle from there rather than straight from the bottle, which has no pour control at all. Store it in a cool cupboard away from light, tightly capped, and it will keep for a very long time. When eating out, dressing on the side is the reliable ask, because restaurant vinaigrettes are usually made with garlic.

Common questions

is balsamic vinegar low fodmap

Yes, at about 1¾ tablespoons (35mL). It moves to moderate at larger portions and high at much larger portions, as excess fructose builds.

how much balsamic vinegar can i have

About 1¾ tablespoons (35mL) is the low serve, which comfortably covers a light drizzle over food. Larger portions are moderate, so pouring freely or building a dressing you keep going back to is where it changes.

is balsamic glaze the same as balsamic vinegar

No. A glaze is a thickened, usually sweetened reduction and often has other ingredients added, so the serves here do not cover it. Check the label rather than treating it as the same food.

can i use balsamic vinegar on the elimination phase

Yes, kept to about 1¾ tablespoons (35mL). Watch bottled balsamic dressings instead, since most of them list onion or garlic powder.