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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Balsamico, Balsamico, God Shed his Grace on Thee.

On January 10, Sally and I went out to dinner together. Ladies night! We found a great restaurant in Modena called Ristorante da Danilo. Sally was having that familiar experience of wanting whatever the other person was having. I had conigilia (rabbit) and she kept asking for bites. I was actually delighted to share it and gladly gave her more since she, (a bit of a picky eater) doesn't always want to try new things. Then when it came to dessert I ordered vanilla gelato with balsamic vinegar and she (wrinkling her nose at the idea of eating ice cream with vinegar) ordered lemon sorbet. She was so excited by my balsamic vinegar topping that she begged me to switch desserts halfway through the eating.
Suddenly, she was much more interested in going to a Villa that makes the traditional balsamic vinegar.
So, on January 11 we went to Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale Villa San Donnino where we met Davide, who gave a wonderful tour of his villa. When we entered, the smell of vinegar permeated the whole building. But it was not a typical sour vinegar smell. It was a fragrant moment. All three of us were immediately captivated by the journey. Davide explained that only two specific kinds of white and red grapes were used to make the vinegar. He told us that most people don't know (including us) that true balsamic vinegar is made with only the grapes and no other ingredients.
Go to your kitchen now and look at your balsamic vinegar bottle. Look at the ingredients. Well. Do you have true balsamic vinegar? Neither did I.
We learned that the grapes are crushed and the juice or must is taken and placed into an oak barrel. The juice journeys through several different barrels including cherry, ash, chestnut, mulberry, Each barrel infuses the juice with distinct flavors and colors. These barrels were lined up from largest to smallest. Each one had an opening on the top over which a small cloth was laid. Davide explained that the first batch of balsamic vinegar can be collected after a minimum of 12 YEARS. After he said that I knew this was a labor of love.
Then we got to taste the real deal. Here comes the rhapsody. We tasted the stuff that is in my kitchen. Then we started tasting the real thing. There as absolutely no similarity between real aged balsamic vinegar and the stuff in my kitchen. Tasting it was intensely satisfying. The subtlety and complexity of the flavor. The intensity of the moment it hits the tongue. It was just like a wine tasting thing I did with my sibs a few years ago. We were coached to think about the hints of flavors each wine offered....the finish...where it rested in the mouth. Another analogy for it is the difference between the flavor of Aunt Jemima's and real Maine made maple syrup. Frankly, I think it would be delicious to pour a little authentic balsamic on a pancake. Of course it would cost you about 20 bucks to do it.
All three of us must have looked like we were addicts after we tasted the 35 year old version. Davide showed us his private stock where he had a few barrels that dated back over 70 years. With no hesitation at all we bought some 15 year old syrupy-sweet-and-sourness. Sally has been instructed where to hide it in the house and no one is allowed to open it until we return.

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