Subtly Elevate Your Caprese Salad With This Staple Vinegar

A Caprese salad loaded with fresh tomatoes is a highlight of every summer. Fortunately, this dish is pretty easy to assemble, considering it's composed of just tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, salt, and olive oil. Many people like to add a bit of extra acid in the form of sweet and tangy balsamic vinegar, but when we spoke to Anthony Paone, executive chef at the restaurant Campanella in Sebastopol, California, he suggested a different addition for when you want to change things up a little.

Paone advised swapping the balsamic with a flavorful drizzle of sherry vinegar. He said, "Sherry vinegar would be a bit sharper, less sweet." It takes the salad in a zingier direction, adding nutty, caramelized flavors and well-balanced acidity. And the best part is, you might already have a bottle in your cabinet. "It would also feel less 'Italian,' which isn't necessarily a bad thing," Paone added.

That being said, sherry vinegar does have different qualities to it than balsamic, so Paone leans towards a slightly different expression when using it for a Caprese salad. "If viscosity is a concern or desire, you can make a sherry vinegar glaze or reduction," he suggested. He also recommended making a light vinaigrette with olive oil to pour directly on the tomatoes or even to marinate the tomatoes in that dressing for a bit before assembling the salad.

Since sherry vinegar does have a different flavor profile than balsamic, Anthony Paone said you'll want to be light-handed with how much you add to your Caprese salad. He also recommended adding other complementary flavors. "I would lean less on the vinaigrette and maybe add pesto dollops," Paone suggested.

So rather than the vinegar flavor being front and center, you'll be using it as a supporting character to the herbaceous and anise-like notes of the basil and the fruity fattiness of the olive oil. The undertones of the sherry vinegar also help the natural acidity of the juicy tomatoes stand out, which is the part most of us look forward to in a Caprese salad. Because the profile of sherry vinegar is quite versatile, you can also pair it with different types of sauces — like spicy jalapeño pesto.

A vinegar swap in a Caprese salad might not seem like the biggest change, but when there are so few ingredients, it's definitely a tweak you'll notice right away. If you make your adjustments just right, you might find that this variation on a classic dish actually improves upon something as perfect as a Caprese salad.