Incandescent!

Further to my recent rant about supermarkets discontinuing products – please now replace rant with incandescent!

Whenever you hear the big shots from the big supermarkets spouting, they always utter the same mantra – “we care about our customers” yadda, yadda, yadda.

Last week I was putting the final touches to the preparation for my forthcoming class. I'd promised Arancini – aka Italian rice balls made with leftover risotto, stuffed with Taleggio cheese. I decided that I'd plate up with a balsamic glaze.

Like everyone else I take shortcuts occasionally and so added the glaze to my shopping list – guess what - one big fat gap on the shelf where it should have been. There was every form, depth and quality of balsamic vinegar known to man and then some. The assistant couldn't say whether it was discontinued or when the shelf would be re-stocked.

Actually it was immaterial since I needed the glaze there and then.

Someone should alert these people to the fact that their customers do not have the time, or the inclination for that matter, to spend 2 hours trawling around supermarkets looking for a product that they have been pushing at us for some while – food fashions clearly don't last that long these days.

What a cheek – here's my solution – make it yourself :

Balsamic Glaze

50g/2oz demerara sugar

250ml/9 fluid oz balsamic vinegar

Place the sugar and vinegar in a medium saucepan (19cms or 7½” in diameter) and heat slowly, stirring allowing the sugar to dissolve. Bring to the boil, then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes – until the glaze is reduce by half. It should coat the back of a spoon. Decant into a clean jar with a lid – fridge it.

It looks like this :

You know how they say something good comes out of something bad – oh brother it certainly does. I won't be buying balsamic glaze any more so there!

P.s. If you'd like chapter & verse on the arancini check out the Italian label - “My antidote” for the recipe and a step by step photo guide.