I agree with you and have for a long time. This issue first came up when I was with Pritikin when the Chef brought in some of these infused flavored balsamic vinegars and also some balsamic reductions and glazes.
When he first brought them in, we knew something was up because they tasted WAY too good
and clearly could ring the pleasure trap bell. They just tasted too good and many people who tasted them just wanted "more." For some who tried them, they were affecting their blood sugars.
After looking into them, understanding how they were made and what they were really the equivalent of, we decided against using them. We saw them basically as "added sugar" and counted them as such.
Here is why.....
Most simple plain vinegars like Apple Cider, Red Wine and Rice Wine vinegar contain about 0-1 gram of sugar in them (if any) and about 2-5 calories per serving (1 tbsp or 15 grams). You may often see these with 0 sugar listed and 0 calories as they get to round down these low numbers on the label.
I have never really worried about these and recommend their use as a salad dressing/condiment. These basic plain vinegars are somewhat tart, do not trigger the pleasure trap and make no significant contribution of calories or sugar.
Balsamic vinegars are basically made from fermented grape juice and some have the same numbers as above. However, you may find some that have about 1-2 grams of sugar listed and about 5-10 calories per serving. These are also somewhat tart and I have never really cared much about these either, especially if they are using a tbsp or two of it on a huge salad or a few servings of vegetables.
However, these flavored infused balsamic vinegars can have 30 or more calories per tbsp with added sugars, and can be very sweet.
They achieve this several ways. In the making of balsamic vinegar, the juice (or "must") can be cooked down till it is concentrated at least 50% or more. In addition, it is aged in wood casks and during the aging process, evaporation happens, concentrating the juice (or "must") even more. Some do one of these processes and some do both and you may often see these on the label listed as cooked must, concentrated must, aged must or any combo of these. Some also add fruit puree and some even add sugar.
These are often promoted and sold as Flavor Infused Balsamic Vinegars, sometimes as Balsamic Reductions, sometimes as Balsamic Glaze and sometimes as just plain old Balsamic Vinegar. The only way to know for sure, is to check the Nutrition Facts label & the ingredient list, looking at the calories and the grams of sugar per serving on the label and the ingredient list. Most of these, if they have a nutrition facts label, will even list 25, 30, 36 or more calories per serving and 7 or even 8 grams of sugar per serving. (FYI - I have seen balsamic reductions/glazes with as much as 60 calories and 13 grans of sugar per tbsp.)
Let's put this in perspective.
These flavor infused balsamic vinegars are 36 calories and 8 grams of sugar per tbsp.
Fruit juice concentrate (which counts as an added sugar) has about 30 calories and 7 grams of sugar per tbsp
So, these flavor infused balsamic vinegars are slightly more concentrated in calories/sugar then fruit juice concentrate.
Pure maple syrup (which counts as an added sugar) has about 50 calories and 12 grams of sugar per tbsp.
So, these flavor infused balsamic vinegars are almost as concentrated in calories/sugar as maple syrup
Even more perspective...
If you mix 14 grams of maple syrup with 1 gram of water, you end up with about the same amount and concentration of calories/sugar per tbsp as the flavor infused vinegars.
Or, if you dissolve 1.75 to 2 tsp of sugar in each tbsp of the plain vinegar you have the exact same amount and concentration of calories & sugar per tbsp as the flavor infused vinegars.
So, those who are using these higher calorie premium flavor infused balsamic vinegars may not realize they are basically pouring the equivalent of a sugar syrup with a calorie/sugar concentration somewhere between fruit juice concentrate and maple syrup on their food.
If you are using a basic plain rice, red wine or apple cider vinegars, which have 0-5 calories, I have no problem with it.
If you are using the flavor infused ones (or the reductions or glazes), and they are 30-35 calories per tbsp (or more), understand it is almost the same as using maple syrup and it now counts as an added sugar and you should be very aware of its sugar density and its potential impact on blood sugar, caloric intake, etc and its potential to trigger the pleasure trap.
Remember, as I explained in this previous article, concentration is the issue and these infused vinegars are very concentrated. You can think of these as Balsamic Crack
A Date With Disaster: The Pleasure Trap of Whole Natural Foods
http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/E ... Foods.htmlAnd so yes, my guidelines for added sugar would apply to them, which is no more then 5% of calories from added sugars.
For someone consuming 1500 calories, it would allow up to 75 calories, which would be slightly more then 2 tbsp of these flavor infused vinegars.
For 2000 calories, it would allow up to 100 calories, which would be just under 3 tbsp of these vinegars per day.
So, if someone is using more than 2-3 tbsp of these a day, that alone is causing them to exceed the sugar guideline for the day.
And, if you struggle with the pleasure trap, any amount may be too much.
In Health
Jeff