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!