According to the literature, it may contain traces of lead....traces being the key word. You would have to consume it in very large quantities - several quarts a day - for it to be actually harmful. Exactly where the lead comes from is not as well determined. Could be just from the grapes itself drawing it out of the soil. Or from the casks it is aged in. Or possibly even the bottles it is sold in.

California has very stringent food labeling requirements that have a safety factor of 1000. That means that if the product is 1000 times lower in the concentration or parts per million of a suspected toxin - like lead - it must come with a warning label. A lot of US balsamic vinegar comes from CA since it is a byproduct of the wine industry.

Red wine vinegar may also contain trace amounts of lead.

In one of the oceanfront towns in NC, there is an oil and vinegar store. Dozens of flavors, all available for tasting. We have a bottle of Espresso Balsamic. It probably wouldn't be good on your salad, but it is amazing on vanilla ice cream.

Or so I've heard.😇

NO amount of lead is safe.

I'm addicted to balsamic vinegar. Every single day I have a big bowl of salad for lunch. I make the dressing in the bottom of the bowl before I add the ingredients. I go through a lot of balsamic.

I've bought cheap (TJ) and more expensive (WF) and the taste factor isn't always reflected by how much I paid. One thing I've noticed is there's a wide range of calories in the nutritional info. I find the more calories, the better it tastes. But of course.

No amount of lead may be safe, but we cannot entirely escape it, since for many generations, lead was deliberately introduced into our environment. Besides all the years leaded gasoline and paints were used, I recently learned ancient Romans used lead wine vessels because it made their wines taste sweeter.

The best hope is that we can reduce our exposure as much as possible.

BTW, I love the Modena Balsamic vinegar I get from Trader Joe's - kind of syrupy and sweet. I use it straight on green salads - no oil or anything, other than a little salt.

I love Suzanne Somer's Infusio organic balsamic vinegars and oils (aged and crafted in Italy) and could literally drink them out of the bottle (to be clear, I don't but could!). I haven't tasted one I haven't loved. Have tried others but none have measured up.

If you enjoy balsamic vinegar, grab a bottle of pomegranate molasses! On fruit, yogurt, in beverages such as sparkling water or iced tea…. many possibilities.

I find it too sweet as a dressing, but I use flavoured white balsamic vinegar with soda as a "shrub" non-alcoholic cocktail. They're not real balsamic vinegar, but they're marketed that way.

Pomegranate molasses isn't that hard to make if you boil down a bottle of pomegranate juice. :)

I’ve been using these from ”O” for several years. Really like their oils and vinegars.

I have a bottle of TJ’s Aceto Balsamico Di Modena. Not bad for a good price.

That TJ balsamic is what's currently on tap in my house.

The balsamic vinegars I use are not sweet in the least. I use white balsamic vinegar in slaw and some dressings. When i use red balsamic vinegar I usually also use a balsamic glaze that is both sweet and tart.

"The balsamic vinegars I use are not sweet in the least."

I find many things sweet that others do not - it's just the way my tastebuds work.

I like balsamic vinegar on salads and also when I cook red cabbage and apples in the fall. For salads, a blend of balsamic and rice wine vinegar is good too. But I use lemon juice on most of my main-dish salads.

I like it on caprese salad the best, but also like cooking with it. Here’s one of my favorite recipes that calls for it - the balsamic really gives the onions a great depth!

https://12tomatoes.com/french-onion-chicken/

I found a store that had HUGE discounts. They had 10 yr aged Moderna Balsamic vinegar. It was delicious on salads! I currently have Bartenura Moderna...very good also!