Parmesan, Balsamic Vinegar, and Prosciutto

Yesterday we drove to Parma, a town to the west of Bologna, where we will stay for a few days. Today we became totally immersed in the production of Emilia Romagna's signature food products.

Leaving our hotel at 7:30 a.m., we travelled with our guide to a local dairy that produces Parmesan Reggiano. For the next hour and a half we watched every fascinating step of the cheese production.







The cheese maker and two assistants make twelve wheels of the cheese every morning which then age for eighteen months to three years.

On to Modena, home of the finest Balsamic Vinegars. Here, at the Villa San Donnino, we were taken on a tour of the vinegar process which produces "Aceto Balsamico Traditionale Di Modena" a truly unique product, not simply a vinegar but a seasoning.

It comes from Trebbiano grapes which are grown on the farm, boiled, and aged in barrels for twelve to fifty plus years. The farm also produces a six year vinegar which is used for salads.

We sampled small amounts of each of the years to truly appreciate the spectacular product that comes from the aging process. The wife of the vinegar producer took us on a tour of the Villa, a magnificent home that was taken over by the Nazis during WWII. It houses am amazing collection of art, ceramics, beautiful old furniture, and an extensive collection of bronze animals.

Our final stop was at a Prosciutto di Parma processing plant, Salumificio La Perla, where we saw the massive hams in all stages of salting, washing, cooling, and air drying in various rooms of cold, humidity, and temperature.

It take eighteen months to cure the hams which are then each tested by inspectors who insert horse bones in various parts of the ham, and smelling them, to determine whether they are properly cured. In order to be called Prosciutto di Parma, the hams must be made in the Parma area. The pigs are fed special diets in order to be used for this ham curing process. Our guide took us next door to the local 'agritourismo' to have a wonderful lunch, prepared by the owners, of prosciutto, salami, culatella, Parmesan, and, of course, tortelli - raviolis filled with ricotta and spinach.

The owner of the salumificio treated us to some wonderful melt in your mouth 48 month prosciutto. What more could we ask for on such a fabulous day!

Cooking with Luisa

What a fun day! We started the morning off with our guide and translator, Lilia, who took us to the market hall where locals buy fresh produce, meat, pasta, cheese, and fish. So many foods were not available to us at home, like the varieties and different sizes of artichokes: the produce seller described how to pickle the baby artichokes.

At another shop we watched a man making fresh mozzarella.



When they finally dragged me away, Lilia took us to Luisa's home where we were to spend the rest of the day cooking. Luisa belongs to a group of women called Caesarinas who teach Bolognese cooking. She was recently in New York and Miami with some colleagues giving cooking classes. Luisa, Dave and I made fresh pasta, each of us doing our own batch - such pressure! 

Half the pasta was set aside to dry while the other was used right away to make ricotta and spinach tortelloni. Next we cut the rest of the pasta in strips - just the right width or it cannot be called tagliatelle - to go with the Bolognese sauce Luisa had made previously. Lunch was served - tortellini in a butter and sage sauce followed by tagliatelle Bolognese, paired with a local Lambrusco wine. For dessert we enjoyed a dense chocolate cake that we had made when we first arrived this morning. This day is why I came to Bologna!

In Bologna

After three days in Bologna,we knew we had found another favorite place. In the town there are 100,000 students, and the vibe is energetic. The town itself is charming with its winding streets, plazas nestled among the historical buildings, and cafes open to the beautiful spring weather. We spent a day with a guide who shared her knowledge of the museums, libraries, and churches they are so proud. Later she took us to the local markets and told us a out the various pastas, meats and cheeses. We learned that tortellini are very small - the size of half a chestnut and shaped to look like a woman's navel, and are meat filled. Tortelloni are larger - more the size of our ravioli- and they are filled with cheese. Tortellini are usually served "en brodo" - in broth. The larger tortelloni are often served with butter and sage. We ended our little tour with a sampling of local cured meats - prosciutto, salami, and mortadella paired with the local bread - fried puffs of dough that look like beignets. Next came chunks of aged Parmesan with aged balsamic vinegar drizzled over it. This was all accompanied by local sparkling wine. Last we sampled several varieties of their dark chocolate, one a cube of chocolate and hazelnut that was created for the Fiat company when they brought out a new car years ago. The car was not a success but the chocolate was.

The next day we took the train to Ravena, home to many well-preserved mosaics in the churches which were created during the 6th and 8th centuries, the finest in all Western art and the most splendid outside Istanbul. They were exquisite and the work so fine it looked like tapestry. Later we visited one of the modern-day workshops to watch the craftsmen piece together mosaics out of tiny shards of Murano glass.

A New Year, New Travel Adventures...

We leave in two days for the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy where we begin Debbie's food fantasy in Bologna. Follow along with us as we sample fresh tortellini, parmesan cheese, prosciutto and mortadella, and balsamic vinegar. Next we hop to one of the spots on Dave's bucket list - Austria - where we will attend the opera and listen to Mozart and The Vienna Boy's Choir. Finally, it's back to the Lake District of Italy where we will be joined by Dave's brother, Hugh, and his wife, Georgia.