We were picked up at our hotel at 7:30 in the morning in a mini-van driven by an older gentleman named something like John Giatomo, but it sounded a lot like Johnny Italiano. We loaded into the vehicle and met another attendee, a fellow named Ed from LA. He was a self-proclaimed foodie. We made another quick stop to pick up two more passengers, a younger couple from Sydney, Australia who we buddied up with early on. The rest of the attendees were picked up in another vehicle, which also included the tour guide, Alessandro.
We were driven 45 minutes into the countryside to the province of Modena, with our first stop at a parmigiano-reggiano factory. The factory is part of a consortium of around 200 producers in the local region which are recognized to produce authentic parmigiano-reggiano. The ingredients of the cheeses are traced and the resulting products are thoroughly tested to ensure they meet a high quality. This oversight and geographical protection is referred to as DOP (in English, Protected Designation of Origin).
Alessandro led us into the small factory which was actively producing that day's batch of parmigiano-reggiano. The cheese is made from a combination of skim milk (separated overnight from the previous day's fresh milk) and fresh milk brought in that morning from local farmers. Rennet is added to start the coagulation process. The ingredients are combined in large cooper-lined tanks and heated. The mixture is stirred with what appears to be large whisks, breaking apart the forming solids into small pieces. The mixture is then left to sit, with the solids sinking to the bottom and the whey remaining on top. We arrived to find the cheese in this state.
Then the cool part began. The cheese gurus used a large wooden spoon or shovel to lift the formed mass from the bottom of the tank and wrapped it in cheese cloth, rolling the cheese in the cloth to form it into a spherical shape.
Then the "Big Cheese" (master cheese marker) came by with what looked like a samurai sword and cut the mass into two even chunks, which would each became a wheel of cheese. The resulting two pieces are shown in the image below.
A number of steps follow (too many to enumerate here), but the cheese ends up in discs shapes and goes through a number of aging steps, including floating in sea salt water.
It is stamped with the information of the producer and date of production. In addition, a large oval spot is left on the outside, where the stamp of approval can later be added by the DOP board. The cheese is then aged on wooden shelfs. The exterior of each wheel is regularly cleaned (the process is automated) to remove oils that result from salt penetrating into the cheese.
Once the cheese has aged for 12-months, the DOP arrives and inspects every single wheel. They tap it and listen to the sound. If it is uniform, the assumption is that very little air is contained in the wheel. Therefore, the cheese can be matured longer (commonly up to 30 months), as it is less likely to sprout mould. These cheeses are dubbed parmigiano-reggiano 1st class and get a pretty stamp.
Cheese that sounds mostly uniform when tapped is dubbed parmigiano-reggiano 2nd class. It gets grooves scored into its exterior, but the markings of the factory and date remain.
If the cheese is completely not uniform, it does not get to call itself parmigiano-reggiano at all. The markings on the exterior are removed. This cheese will be consumed quite young as "table cheese".
It was all very interesting and educational. Then we got to the best part: the tasting. We got to sample copious amounts of both young and old parmigiano-reggiano, as well as some sparking red wine that is popular in the province of Modena. Stop 1: CHECK!
The next stop was at a local producer of aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena (traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena). This was eye opening. Most of the balsamic vinegar that we consume in North America is really a mixture of wine vinegar, some grapes, and preservatives. Balsamico tradizionale is only made from a few key ingredients (grape-must, which is the product of pressed grapes, being the key ingredient) that are aged for a minimum of 12 years if they want to carry the title and be recognized by the balsamico DOP. The process was intensive and is quite expensive, and with small scale production there are no real monetary rewards. Most small producers do it as a hobby. As the production details were complex, I will not elaborate much here (if you want to find out more, check out the official website of the consortium: http://www.balsamico.it/).
*Balsamico aging in specialized barrels
It is a tradition in Modena to start a new batch of balsamico upon the birth of each child as a sort of inheritance for them (a gift that keeps on giving). This barrel set was started by our tour guide for his new daughter.
Then we tried a 6 year balsamico, which can't be labeled with the full title because it hasn't aged the minimum 12 years. Many producers will still sell some balsamico at this age to began making a return on their investment. It was delicious, slightly sweet with a nice acidity. Next, we sampled a 14 year aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena, which was sweeter but still sported a nice acidity. Finally, we finished with an extravecchio (extra old) aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena, meaning that it has been recognized by the DOP as a high quality balsamico that has been aged for at least 25 years. The one we sampled had been aged 45 years. It was very sweet and had lost much of its acidity. We then got an extra treat. We sampled some balsamico jelly (made with the 6 year balsamico) on ricotta that was made that morning at the cheese factory we visited (ricotta can be easily made as a byproduct of parmigiano-reggiano production). This was followed by 6 year balsamico on vanilla gelato. It was so delicious. We picked up some balsamico to take home. Stop 2: CHECK!
Our third and final stop before lunch was at a prosciutto producer. Surprisingly, the producer was housed in the building below, which looked quite residential (the family lives on the top floor). This family purchases 500 haunches (back legs) of pig every week and turns them into prosciutto, which takes a minimum of 14 months (so deemed by the prosciutto DOP). The pork legs are thoroughly salted, then kept in a very cold cooler. After a couple of months, the salt is removed and the pork is left to cure. It is evaluated at 14 months by the expert DOP folk who poke a small instrument into the leg at several places to check for uniformity and scent.
Needless to say, there was a lot of pork hanging around. Once again, if the prosciutto passes the DOP inspection, it is stamped with their seal of approval, as seen in the picture below right, and can be officially called prosciutto di Modena.
Once again, samples were passed out and more sparkling red wine was consumed. The prosciutto di Modena was delicious.
We next headed to lunch, even though we were already full. Lunch was at a local trattoria called Trattoria de Bolognese. While we were told lunch would be light (somewhat jokingly), it was anything but. We started out with bread and two different types of pasta (featured below). Then we had potatoes, spinach, beef liver, and quail. This was all accompanied by both red and white wines (a plentiful supply, I might add). Finally, the meal was capped off with dessert trays and espresso. Needless to say, everyone was stuffed.
We were bussed back to Bologna by our favourite driver, Johnny Italiano. On the way, we made plans with our Aussie buddies to meet up in Rome, since we will all be there in a couple of weeks.
As for now, we are both laying in bed with a food coma. We will not be eating tonight...
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