Produced since the Middle Ages and famous throughout the world, the traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena is made from a reduction of pressed and cooked Trebbiano and Lambrusco white grapes. The grape juice is boiled down to approximately 30% of the original volume, which produces a thick syrup called mosto cotto in Italian. Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena is then stored in wooden barrels and fermented with a slow aging process for a minimum of 12 years.
During this time, the traditional Modena vinegar becomes sweeter, viscous and very concentrated, which intensifies the flavor even more. Aceto balsamico is rich, glossy, deep brown in color and has a complex flavor that balances the natural sweet and sour elements of the cooked grapes with hints of wood from the barrels: chestnut, cherry, oak, mulberry, ash or juniper.
Widely used and commonly found on restaurant tables across Europe, Aceto Balsamico di Modena is produced in the neighboring provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Aceto di Modena is an inexpensive, less aged variety of Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena.
It usually sells for approximately $10-20 an ounce, and should never be mistaken for the highly prized Tradizionale that can sell for up to $200 an ounce. Traditionally, balsamic vinegar is made from late harvested, locally grown Trebbiano grapes.
Named after the province and region of its origin, Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia is a balsamic vinegar obtained by fermenting and refining cooked grapes of the Lambrusco and Trebbiano varieties. The grapes are boiled down to approximately 30% of their original volume, turning into a thick syrup called mosto cotto in Italian, which is then stored in wooden barrels and fermented with a slow aging process for a minimum of 12 years.
This traditional vinegar variety is incomparably more expensive than regular Aceto Balsamico because of the high purity requirements and a much longer aging process. In fact, if tasted straight from the bottle, not even the best commercial vinegars can compete with the rich aroma and flavor of a true, traditional Aceto Balsamico, which is a complex array of caramel, raisin, wood and honey notes, blended in a perfect balance of sweet and sour.
Aceto Balsamico, or balsamic vinegar, is a traditional vinegar from Italy, specifically from the Emilia-Romagna region, with its most famous origins in the cities of Modena and Reggio Emilia. It is crafted from the must of white Trebbiano grapes, which are cooked down into a syrup and then aged in wooden barrels.
The aging process can vary greatly, with some balsamic vinegars being aged for over 25 years. There are two primary types of balsamic vinegar. The first, Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale, is the highest-quality variety, aged for at least 12 years, sometimes even longer.
VARIATIONS OF Aceto balsamico
Emilia-Romagna has been renowned for its salt production, especially the small town of Cervia near Ravenna, often referred to as "a city of white gold," where high-quality salt has been hand-picked since the 8th century. Today, Salina Camillione is the only salt basin where hand harvesting of salt is still practiced, producing only around 5 tons of this exceptional salt a year.
In an attempt to protect this ancient tradition, the city was presented with a "Presidia" status by the Slow Food Association, which protects products on the verge of extinction.
Due to the absence of bitter minerals normally contained in sea water, such as potassium, and the purity of its sodium chloride, Cervia’s salt tastes sweeter than other sea salts, and extraction through natural evaporation and drying creates a salt that maintains its natural humidity without additives.
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