Wanderings

A day off last week led me to explore Modena and Parma. I am staying in Maranello, a 30 minute bus ride from Modena and another 40 minutes by train to Parma. In Modena, I visited a beautiful indoor market - full of the typical vegetable and fruits, and also small bakeries, meat shops with both butchered meats and ready prepared items like stuffed flank steak ready for the grill or oven. The fish markets had a beautiful array of fish and seafood - a nice surprise as the region is dominated by meat consumption - in particular pork (it is said to be 2 pigs for every person in the Modena region). There were cheese shops and spice/dry good merchants and then my favorite - the prepared foods: beautiful pastas, salads, cured vegetables and fish, rice salads, stuffed zucchini, grilled meats - everything prepared and ready to eat or take home for a nice meal. I also visited the duomo - a beautiful church, ornate and grand.

After a bit of wandering the streets, I felt the pull to Parma and wandered off in search of the train station. A quick relaxing ride landed me in the center of town. Parma is an homage to foods of the region - beautiful proscuitto, of course Parmigiano Reggiano.You can also find Mortadella, salame, capocollo and pancetta. A couple of visits to meat shops proved to be almost overwhelming with massive legs of curing meats lining the shelves and hanging from the ceiling - some aged 5-6 years. Lambrusco wine dominates in the region and was surprisingly nice - the light acidity and sweetness was a great compliment to the richness of many of the meals. In Parma, I enjoyed a beautiful lunch on lasagne bolognese - a surprising delicate dish with fresh spinach noodles, bechamel and the ever present ragu (Bolognese to the rest of us) and of course finished with Parmesan.

This week, I had a chance to visit the Museo del Balsamico Tradizionale in Spilamberto - about 20 minutes from where I am staying. The history of balsamic vinegar is rich with tradition and family history. A true, top form balsamico takes a minimum of 25 years to produce and 100 kilos of grapes produce a scant 2 liters of end product. It is a highly labor intensive process, with a 10% of the liquid in each barrel moved to another barrel each year to develop the sugars and the flavors and finally for aging. Different types of woods are used at different stages of production, each imparting their own unique flavor and color to the final experience. The process comes from a highly home grown tradition, and typically aging rooms are found in attics - where they stay cool in the winter and obtain high temperatures in e summer.Vinegars given the Tradizionale certification are made only from grapes, harvested in the September and October months - no sugar or colorings are added and to be labeled as an official Balsamico Tradizionale, they must be tasted and reviewed by a board and aged a minimum of 12 years - you will find them aged for 12 years and 25 years. You will find younger balsamicos made in the traditional ways, but they will be labeled as condimento and not as Tradizionale. These younger vinegars are intended for cooking or on salads. The older ones reserved for being served atop cheeses, strawberries, steaks and the like - a few drops enhancing the flavor of the dish. A 12 year old 100 ML bottle (about 3 oz) costing $40-60 and a 25 year costing $100 plus.

In the afternoon, I visited a home/business where they have produced balsamico in the traditional ways for at least 5 generations - having lost track of their history going back further.I had a personal tour of the aging room where they produce 30-40 liters of balsamico per year - hardly enough to support a family. The barrels used in aging will last for 100-150 years, but a new family of barrels costs 1000's of dollars and takes 18+ months to arrive. The family also operates a traditional 60 seat restaurant where dinner runs $100+/person. They have a small B&B and have 4 generations of family members working and living at the property. My tour was done by Davide - the son of the current owner. He explained that as each child is born, they will start a new family of barrels for that child - each one able to select how sweet or acidic they would like the final product. Davide explained that his is more acidic, as he wants to have his vinegar for generations - hoping to age it 200-300 years. His sister's is more sweet and will not be consumable past a few generations - too sweet and too thick. They also house some private collections for wealthy families from America, South Africa and the Middle East - each getting their allotment of 1-2 liters of finished product per year.I smelled finished products that were 78 years old and tasted ones that were 30 years.