Balsamic vinaigrettes are typically used as salad dressings, but they can be drizzled over roasted vegetables and used with chicken broth to create a sauce for pork chops. With a unique flavor from the mixture of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette delivers minerals, vitamins and healthy unsaturated fatty acids.
Dark brown, sweet and tart balsamic vinegar is an Italian vinegar made from Trebbiano or Lambrusco grapes that have been aged in five different wooden barrels. True balsamic vinegars are aged at least 12 years and are expensive. Commercially prepared balsamic vinegars are fermented quickly and might contain other ingredients. A basic balsamic vinaigrette is made from one part of balsamic vinegar mixed with three parts of olive oil. Nutritional values in this article are for one cup of dressing made from 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and 3/4 cups of olive oil.
Vitamins
Balsamic vinegar does not contribute any vitamins, but olive oil provides vitamins E and K. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects fats and vitamin A from damage. The olive oil in this vinaigrette contains 23 mg of vitamin E, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. Based on the Institute of Medicine's recommended daily intake of 15 mg, this is 155 percent of the daily value. You'll gain 97.5 mcg, or 8 percent of the daily value, of vitamin K, which is essential for blood clotting and bone mineralization.
Minerals
Olive oil contains a small amount of calcium, iron and potassium, but most of the minerals in balsamic vinaigrette come from the vinegar. It provides 1 to 2 percent of the recommended daily value of bone-building calcium and phosphorus, as well as potassium and magnesium, which are both essential for muscle contraction and nerve signals. Balsamic vinegar and olive oil have almost equal amounts of iron, delivering a total of 1.4 mg, or 7 percent of the daily value. Balsamic vinegar also contains 0.8 mg of the trace mineral manganese, an antioxidant needed by enzymes responsible for metabolism and the formation of cartilage and collagen.
Essential Fatty Acids
Omega-3 and omega-6 are essential fatty acids needed to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. The olive oil in this vinaigrette contains 1.23 g of omega-3 and 15.8 g of omega-6 fatty acids. The daily adequate intake is 12 to 17 g/day for omega-6 and 1.1 to 1.6 g/day for omega-3, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.
Considerations
Balsamic vinegar contains 56 calories, and the olive oil has 1,432, for a total of 1,488 calories. Because a cup contains 16 tablespoons, each tablespoon of vinaigrette has 93 calories. The vinegar contains 15 of the total 18 mg of sodium. Olive oil has 22.4 g of saturated fat and 135 g of unsaturated fat.
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