The Sweet And Tangy Drizzle That Makes Frozen Pizza Taste Gourmet

Heating up a frozen pizza in the evening provides the perfect comfort dinner. It's quick, inexpensive, and there's no hassle waiting for a delivery driver or worrying that your pizza is getting cold in the back of their car. But sometimes, a plain frozen pizza just doesn't cut it; you want a little something special, without too much extra work. But don't succumb to the siren call of delivery just yet — try looking in your pantry first. Specifically, that bottle of balsamic vinegar in the back of the cupboard. Adding it to your frozen pizza in the form of a reduction can take your meal from run of the mill to restaurant quality in an instant. 

Real-deal balsamic vinegar is typically made solely from grape must. In its most authentic form, it's thicker than apple cider vinegar, malt vinegar, or wine vinegar. Balsamic is a sweet and tangy treat all on its own, but still a little thin in its purest form to drizzle over a freshly-baked frozen pizza. That's why you'll need to reduce it, by heating the vinegar over the stove at a boil for approximately 10 minutes, stirring as you go. 

A cup should be more than enough for a single pizza, but you might want to make a bit more, as the reduction stores well in the fridge. You don't need to add anything to the vinegar either, as this may change the reduction, and it can be used straight away, meaning that you can make it while the pizza is cooking, and time it so that both elements of your dish will be ready at the same time.

A balsamic vinegar reduction on a freshly-cooked frozen pizza adds a bit of sweet-but-savory sophistication, but you can take this clever combination to new heights with even more variations and additions. Beyond classic uses in salad dressing, or over some sliced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese for a Caprese salad, balsamic vinegar, either reduced or not, can be the best friend of various sweet and savory pizza toppings, including fresh tomatoes and mozzarella for Caprese pizza. If you have any extra balsamic reduction once you've finished your pizza, you can add brown sugar and use it as a glaze for grilled and baked meats and vegetable toppings.

Balsamic-glazed Brussel sprouts are a big hit too, as the sweet vinegar balances out the slight bitterness of the sprouts, making a veggie pizza topping full of flavor and crispy crunch. But balsamic vinegar isn't just for savory pizza toppings; you can also use it for sweet ones too. If you're brave enough, you can try making balsamic strawberries for a light and tangy summer treat that can be added to a cheese pizza for a mix of sugar, salt, sweet, and savory flavors that meld dinner and dessert into one. You can even whip up a balsamic caramel dessert sauce, to spoon over a dessert pizza, like apple pizza or chocolate pizza, for a sweet finish to a perfect dinner.