It's amazing how many foods in their highest quality state are just two or three ingredients plus time. Balsamic vinegar - Grapes, stored in wooden casks, allo

It's amazing how many foods in their highest quality state are just two or three ingredients plus time. Balsamic vinegar - Grapes, stored in wooden casks, allowed to age for 12-15 years, gradually moving the fluid to smaller and smaller barrels as the fluid evaporates and concentrates, until the final product fits into a small bottle. Parmeggiano Reggiano - Unpasteurized cow's milk, with a little bit of lactic acid and rennet, packed, brined, and allowed to age for at least 12 months. Whiskey - Distilled grain, stored in a charred oak cask and allowed to age for however many years. Whenever we try to cheat the time factor, we inevitably introduce substitutes, additives, or agitators that result in a worse product at the trade-off of being faster to produce and more widely available.