Emilia-Romagna Produces Three Admired Foods
Parmigiano-Reggiano, Prosciutto, and Balsamic Hail From Region
Jul 21, 2009
Italian cuisine is considered to be the first fully developed cuisine of all the countries of Latin Europe. Most experts, including Larousse Gastronomique, agree that it officially became “the mother cuisine” in 1533, when Catherine de’ Medici journeyed from Florence to France for her marriage to the future King Henri II.
She brought teams of expert cooks with her, and these culinary aristocrats shared the secrets of the most sophisticated cookery that had yet been developed. Culinary historians also agree that while Tuscany and Florence offer the purest of Italian cooking, Bologna and the region of Emilia-Romagna offer the richest. Here three of Italy’s most admired and imitated foods are produced.
Parmigiano-Reggiano Made in Po Valley
Parmigiano-Reggiano is made in Parma in huge cylindrical wheels. An oval firebrand mark and the words “Parmigiano-Reggiano” spelled out in pin dots on the rind sets it apart from lesser quality cheeses or imitations. Made from the milk of local cows fed on the Po Valley’s green pasture land, the cheese is made from two different milkings—the evening milk rests overnight and is skimmed of its cream before being mixed with the next morning’s whole milk.
The mixture is heated, rennet is added to begin the curdling, and a giant metal whisk called a spino then separates the curds from the whey. The cheese is molded, pressed, and drained in a large hatbox-shaped container known as a fascera. It’s then soaked in a salt brine solution for nearly a month, drained, and stacked in a cellar to age for at least 24 months to complete its transformation into the nutty-flavored, grainy-textured cheese so popular on the Italian table.
Consortio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano, which oversees and protects production, also arranges dairy visits (Monday-Friday only) to see how the cheese is produced.
Prosciutto di Parma is Italy's "Sweet Ham'
A perfect companion to this spectacular cheese — you might even say a result of it — Prosciutto di Parma is made from a special breed of pigs reared in eleven regions of central-northern Italy. Their diet consists of grains, cereals, and the whey that’s drained from the curds in the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese-making process. The ham is made from the rear haunches of the pigs using only four essential ingredients—pigs, salt, air, and time—and additives of any kind are strictly forbidden.
Controlled curing allows only enough salt to preserve it, and in the end, a trimmed ham will have lost a quarter of its weight. A maestro salatore (salt master) rubs just the right amount of salt onto the ham in two rubbings, and subsequent daily adjustments ensure that it’s cured with just enough to preserve its reputation as a “sweet ham.”
After about 70 days of hanging, the hams are washed to remove excess salt, hung again for three months in airy rooms to harden their skins, then left in dark cellars for at least 12 and as long as 30 months to continue curing. After a final test called spillatura, the hams are branded with the famous ducal seal of Parma to indicate its quality. Consorzio del Proscuitto di Parma regulates all stages of production from pig feeding to aging.
Traditional Balsamic is Made in Modena
Halfway between Parma and Bologna, Modena is recognized as the place where the finest balsamic vinegar is produced. The raw materials used for the production of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena are locally grown trebbiano and lambrusco grapes. Once the grapes have been crushed, the must (concentrated grape pulp and juice) is separated from the stems and skins, filtered, and heated in a vat over a direct flame. Following a slow and lengthy boil, the concentrated must, which is reduced in volume by 30 to 50 per cent, is taken from the vat and left to cool.
During the rincalzo, the cooled must is decanted and transferred through a series of smaller casks made from woods like oak, cherry, chestnut, mulberry, juniper, and ash and ultimately into the final vessel. Each year the vinegar is transferred to different wood barrels so that it is enriched by the flavors of the woods. Once this is done, the balsamic vinegar matures in the silence of the acetaie (vinegar making facility), where it’s left to age and be inspected periodically.
The end result is a richly lustrous, dark brown liquid that’s characterized by a dense syrupy consistency and a complex sweet/sour aroma. To rank in the classico category, the vinegar should be aged at least 12 years; to be called extra vecchio, aging must last for more than 25 years.
Like its cheese and ham counterparts in Parma, in 2000, the European Union assigned it a DOP (protected origin designation) to distinguish it from inferior vinegars produced without such rigid standards. There are fewer than 20 producers in the province of Modena.
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