Balsamic vinegar, according to a recent poll, is now considered an essential store cupboard ingredient by a quarter of all Brits. I detest it. This dark, syrupy fermented grape juice is like Marmite – you love it or hate it. Partly because it is overused, and also the numerous versions produced, I find myself flinching when I see it on a kitchen or dining room table.
The Italians still behave, at least on the culinary front, as though they are a series of different countries
When I first started travelling to Italy in the 1980s, I was given invaluable lessons in food crime: one, never, ever, under any circumstances, order a cappuccino after 10 a.m., two, do not ask for parmesan on seafood pasta, and three, unless you are in the region of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, do not ask for balsamic vinegar to dress your salad.
The Italians still behave, at least on the culinary front, as though they are a series of different countries, with each region having rules and regulations about what you can eat and drink with what, and when.
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