Too good for words

This post is all about Parmigiano Reggiano and Aceto Balsamico, but it was all too good to put into words, so here are some pictures with captions. Some speak for themselves.

Mixing the curdles curds :-)

Testing the curds: are they ready?

An empty cheese cone, clean and ready for the next batch

A fresh Parmigiano form, pried loose from the bottom and raised to the surface. Each big vat makes two forms

Fresh cheese, receiving its name and date by compression from a plastic stamp inside the metal band

Stamped Parmigiani, soaking in a salt bath. Not quite the Dead Sea, but a cheese sea

Beautiful!

Can I take one home, please?

The cheese stretched all the way up to the high ceiling, and all the way down the long room. Each form must be washed individually once a week!


Maurizio, owner of the B&B Bosco del Fracasso, where we've been staying, showed us around his Acetaia. He explained the whole process to us, and let us taste different ages of aceto. It was yummy!

Stage 1: cooked grape must, allowed to ferment about 2 years

Young (3 years old) fermented must at the first stage of becoming vinegar, in old wine barrels

A series of vinegar barrels made from different woods. The smallest is the oldest (12 years), and as it gets depleted, it is refilled from the next biggest barrel, and so on, until the 3-year old vinegar makes its way down the line.

After all this, we had to buy some vinegar!

A castle of a day

On (what day was it, and does it really matter when you're on holidays?) ... a couple of days ago, we ventured up into the hills of southern Emilia Romagna (borders northern Tuscany) for some hopefully cooler air, and a view of some local castles.


Our first stop was an open-air market in a little town at the feet of the hills, called Traversetolo. The market was very large, but mostly made up of clothing and shoe vendors. Still very fun to walk through. We bought fruit and some sandwich fixings, then headed up into the hills.

UP, literally, by winding switch-backs on a very narrow track. Thankfully there was very little traffic coming the other way! We found the first castle, had our picnic, then took a tour. The view from up there was stunning, and well worth the breathtaking (literally) walk up from the parking area.



This castle was built starting in the 900's, and was a fortress for Matilde di Canossa from around 1046. Matilde, we found out, is a local historical celebrity, who at one time held power over a large area from Tuscany to southern Lombardia. The castle is largely undamaged, as it was built on very solid and enduring ancient lava bedrock. Some living accommodations were added in the 1300's for a family that took over the lands from the Catholic church, to whom the heirless Matilde had left her property.


We decided we had time for one more castle, so we ventured forth on the narrow track to the principal castle in Matilde's little empire, the castle at Canossa. This one is much more in ruins, a result of both violent attack (Matilde was apparently quite the despot), and natural erosion of the much less stable sedimentary rock.

This was a beautiful ruin, and we thoroughly enjoyed our little walk through time and history.

According to some very old documents, it was Matilde who gave the first recorded gift of balsamic vinegar to the visiting emperor Henry IV. Fitting, since this is the land of balsamic vinegar. More on that later, but it involves a visit to the balsamic production facility right here we're staying, and a surprisingly good taste test.

Back for more

Italy, that is! Kendra and I landed in Milano yesterday, after a long but very smooth trip. We just got back to our hotel from a busy but wonderful day in Milano, visiting the Duomo, the Castello Sforzesco, and four (count 'em - four) different bookstores. Or was it five? (Mondadori x 2, Ricordi MediaStore, FNAC - yep, 4. Oh, and the book fair just off the Piazza del Duomo). Our priorities are clear. Of course we also had to do a bit of a quality test on the gelato and granite available to tourists.

We also apparently were called out here to test their thunderstorm system. Let me tell you, it works great! At least we were already in the tram on our way home.

Tomorrow we're heading back into the city for a bit more Sforza stuff: castle tour and museums. Then off to Reggio Emilia for the next stage.

Elyssa and Amy, if you see this blog post, please let me know if your kitties have special names. I also have to tell you that they made a couple of friends today, who will be keeping them company for the rest of the trip. They may also make their way back to Canada with me. AND I made the acquaintance of two cats inside the Sforza castle today. I wonder what their story is, and if they know the Warrior code?

More later, and don't forget to check out Kendra's blog for more news along the way. Just follow the link on the sidebar.