Balsamic Vinegar of Modena: History
February 3rd, 2007You’re probably very familiar with the exquisite taste of Balsamic Vinegar, the staple vinegar for luscious Italian dressings, vinaigrettes, meat marinades and more. I know that in my own personal cooking, Balsamic Vinegar is a commonly used ingredient; everything from ice cream to the silky sauces I add to pork tenderloin or simple salad dressings - and more. I always seem to use the stuff. Call me a fanatic, but, I love my balsamic vinegar.
Let’s explore together the origins of this gourmet elisir.
It must have been about 3000 years ago - right after major wine cultivation took place in the Fertile Crescent area of Mesopotamia - that some genius, or, rather, “failure” viticulturist, stumbled upon vinegar.
Perhaps by accident, perhaps by sheer divine intention, this creation must have stirred some interest. A barrel of fermenting wine got too hot, or was let to ferment too long, or with too much oxygen in the barrel. Whatever the cause, the result was incredible - imagine being the first to discover that grapes can be made into more than just wine!
By the time the Roman Empire expanded across Europe and the Middle East, the practice of using wine must as a sweetener was commonly spread. After all, ther was no sugar yet at that time, and the other available sweetener was honey. It took a few more centuries of experiments in the cellars around the countryside if Modena, in Northern Italy, to discover that cooked wine must, when left fermenting for years with a carefully aged vinegar, could transform even more into the delicious Traditional Balsamic Vinegar we all love.
As told me by Franco, my guide among the Modena’s acetaias, the first historical reference to balsamic vinegar dates back to 1046, when a bottle of balsamic vinegar was reportedly given as a gift by the Granduca of Modena to the visiting Emperor Enrico III of Franconia. The Emperor felt immediately in love with the balsamic elisir, to the point that he gifted back the Granduca of Modena with 100 horses! Wow, such a value that balsamic bottle for a traveling Emperor!
Today the 25-years-aged Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena is still among the top shelf products of expensive gourmet food stores, but a bottle is way more affordable than 100 horses!
The 25-years Traditional Balsamic Vinegar Academia Barilla sells in its online store will cost you as much as one hour horse-riding in a stable, and it will surely last longer, both in your palate and in your kitchen!
And of course you can also find in the Academia Barilla online store the no less glorious Traditional balsamic aged 12 years, or our range of balsamic products that include balsamic must (aged 8 years) and very yummy balsamic-based artisan compotes.
Starting from next week I’ll take you with me in Acetaia, where the traditional balsamic vinegar is made. I will start sharing with you also some of the pictures and videos I have taken for this blog with my non-professional digital camera (even if I’m not a professional photographer, I think I have fairly good photography skills, so I hope you’ll enjoy them).
This entry was posted on Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 at 5:15 pm and is filed under academia barilla, artisan producers, balsamic vinegars, gastronomy tours, italian culinary specialist, italian culinary tradition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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I was reading something else about this on another site. Interesting, your perspective on it is diametrically opposed to what I read earlier. I am still pondering over the different points of view, but I’m tipped heavily toward yours. And regardless, that’s what is so great about modernized democracy and the marketplace of ideas on-line.