Visiting the Museum of Balsamico Tradizionale in Modena was the highlight of our trip to Italy. The minute we walked into the musuem you could smell the bitter yet sweet smell of the Balsamico Tradizionale. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and because there was just one other couple on the tour we were able to ask a lot of questions.
Understanding how balsamic vinegar is made and why the Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale is so rare was absolutely fascinating to me.
As it has been several weeks since my trip to the museum I wasn't sure if I could remember all the details surrounding the production of balsamic vinegar and how it is classified which is where The Nibble comes in. So if you consider yourself a foodie or are especially interested in Italian cuisine I think you'll find this information very interesting.
While I know there are different grades of balsamic vinegar never did I realize just how complicated the grading system really is. What I originally thought was good balsamic vinegar turns out to be an "Industriale" type of vinegar. Industriale vinegars can still taste good but the taste can not compare to the Tradizionale vinegars.
There are actually five types of balsamic vinegar:
- Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale. The
best and rarest and of course the most expensive. Only about 3,000 gallons are produced each year. These vinegars are made in Modena and Reggio-Emilia using artisan methods established
in the Renaissance and dating back to the Middle Ages. The production of tradizionale is strictly monitored by a consortium. The flavor
is amazing...a perfect rich blend of sweet and tart without an acidic taste. The color is brown-black
and when the bottle is tipped, the vinegar leaves a slick coating on the
side of the glass. You can pay anywhere from $70 to $500 and more for a bottle,
depending on the age (12 years to 120 years—20 to 30 years is common),
the rating by the judges of the Consorzio,
the price set by the producer and the varying distributor and retailer
mark-ups . As with the finest olive oils, tradizionale balsamics are not for cooking. These magnificent gourmet products are used to accent foods; tradizionales are also drunk like rare Ports. Aside from the expense, the nuances of flavor will evaporate when
exposed to cooking heat.
- Aceto Balsamico Condimento. These fine balsamics are made by almost identical traditional methods but are lacking one variable to be tradizionale balsamics—e.g., they do not use all five prescribed woods, but
a minimum of three. It's almost possible that the producer may want to release the vinegar
earlier than the mandated 12 years or the producer may be outside of
Modena and Reggio Emilia. These
high-quality vinegars are costly but still much less expensive than tradizionales—$40
versus $80 for eight ounces of 12-year-old balsamic, for example. These condimentos
are guaranteed to be aged in wood and made of all natural ingredients. Producers are free to create vinegar in the style and flavor profile
they wish. Condimentos are not constrained by bottle shape—you can tell
a condimento readily by the more modern shape of the bottle.
- “Industriale” Balsamic
are mass-produced brands made in Italy that use a quick process. Either
the grape must is caramelized (cooked until it changes color) or
caramelized sugar is added (and sometimes flavorings). Then it is aged in large vats with wood chips for flavor. These vinegars are labeled “Aceto Balsamico di Modena”. This is “imitation tradizionale.” According to
Italian law, for a vinegar to be labeled as authentic balsamic, it must
be aged at least three years, but there is no guarantee that it is aged
in wood. Some may use a red wax seal with
claims of “aged” (including the further-confusing “aged 6 years,” which
can be a far-superior condimento). Industriales are more
acidic than artisan-made balsamics, but the better ones can be very
satisfying. Quality and price vary widely. Price is not always an indication of quality. To end the buyer confusion, a few years ago an independent group, AIB
(an acronym translating to the Association of Italian Balsamic
Tasters), developed a scale ranking industriale balsamics [not tradizionales or condimentos]
on a scale of 0 to 4, based on sensory evaluation. Grape leaves are
used to indicate rank—essentially, a higher ratio of grape must to red
wine yields a higher rank.
- Imitation Balsamic includes much of what is sold in the U.S. These balsamic vinegars can be made anywhere and are generally cider vinegar that has been
colored and flavored to approximate the real thing. They range in price
and quality, and are best used for cooking& salad dressing.
- Other balsamics. Some U.S. producers of fine olive oil and vinegar are also making balsamics using artisanal methods. They don’t fall into tradizionale, condimento or industriale classifications but they are good products.
So how do you spot an authentic tradizionale balsamic? It can be extremely confusing to tell the difference between a tradizionale
and a condimento or any other balsamic with an authentic-looking red
wax seal. The easiest thing to do is to memorize this onion-shaped
bottle at the right, authorized by the Consorzio and used exclusively
by tradizionales.
Note that it also has a foil cap and the consorzio
numbered seal across that. There is no red wax seal.If you see any
other shape, it may be a condimento that's 25 or 50 years old, but it's
not a tradizionale.
As with most vinegar, true aceto balsamico starts out as must (unfermented juice). Local sweet white grapes with a high sugar
content are used—Lambrusco, Trebbiano and often other varietals like Spergola are
used in small quantities. The grapes are grown on the hillsides
surrounding Modena & are harvested as late as possible, and often left in
the sun for further ripening to increase the sugar level.
The
grapes are then crushed and pressed, and the must is allowed to sit
until fermentation is about to begin. Unlike other vinegars,
balsamic does not come from wine, but from grape juice that has never
been allowed to ferment into wine.
At the very start of fermentation, the must is filtered and poured into large, open copper cauldrons.
The
must is brought to a boil and slowly simmered over a wood fire. It is
cooked until the water content is reduced by an average of one-half.
This takes from 24 to 30 hours.
The must is then
cooled, allowed to settle and combined with an older balsamic
vinegar—or “mother”—that includes various active yeasts and bacteria
that assist in turning the juice into acetic acid (vinegar).
Aging is the second component that separates balsamic from all other vinegars.
The cooked must is then placed in the first of a series of progressively smaller wooden casks, called the batteria,
or barrel battery, to age. The largest barrel can be 60 liters or more,
moving down progressively to 50, 40, 30, 24, 20, 16 and 13 liters to
the smallest size, 10 liters. During our tour we discovered the barrels used to make balsamic vinegar can take 25 years before they are ready to be used in the process.
The batteria can consist of as few as five barrels (three for condimentos)
and as many as ten, depending on the taste of the producer. The woods
that can be used are acacia, ash, cherry, chestnut, juniper, mulberry,
oak and walnut. Tradizionale balsamic must be aged in five of these woods.
The
vinegar first goes through alcoholic fermentation and then acetic
oxidation. In other words, the sugars turn into alcohol which turns
into acid, which converts the liquid into vinegar.
Each
year the vinegar is decanted and transferred to different casks of
progressively smaller sizes so that it can absorb unique flavors from
each of the woods. This is called “topping off,” and takes place in
January and February. Because of the topping off, balsamic vinegar will
always contain some new vinegar. If an age is marked on the bottle, it
refers to the year that the batteria was started.
For
the rest of the year, the vinegar is left to age. Each year it reduces
in volume through evaporation, concentrating as it ages and resulting
in a rich, syrupy viscosity and aromatic bouquet. The barrels are
filled to two-thirds to three-quarters capacity, to abet evaporation
and condensation. For years, the vinegar goes through what is called “maturation” in the middle part of the batteria, then enters the aging phase in the last few barrels. The process is the same for an industriale or a condimento, but the aging period is shorter—at least three years for an industriale, six years or longer for condimentos (and fine ones are aged for 12, 15 and 20 years, just like tradizionales). For tradizionales and older condimentos, the ultimate step is decanting into the smallest barrel, where the vinegar rests and matures. The
process of knowing when to transfer the vinegar to the next barrel is
knowledge passed on from artisan to artisan through the generations.
The
attic is an ideal aging location for traditional balsamic vinegar
because of the extreme fluctuations in temperatures in Modena—hot
summers and cold winters. Unlike wine, cheese and other products that
require consistency of climate (and are aged below the ground in
cellars to achieve that consistency), the aging process of balsamic
vinegar actually benefits from the alternating summer heat and the
winter cold. Heat promotes fermentation and acetification, and cold
allows resting and maturation. This “natural chemistry” allows balsamic
vinegar to develop and improve for decades, even centuries.
With
an evaporation rate of about 10% each year, 100 liters (26.4 gallons)
of grape must will become 15 liters (4 gallons) of vinegar after twelve
years of aging.
While
the quality of the balsamic depends on the quality of the grapes and
the length of the aging process, the final flavor depends on the timing
of the transfer of the vinegar to the ever-smaller barrels, and the
wood from which the barrels are made. These wood types and the stage of
the aging in which they are employed influence the aromas of the
balsamic vinegar: It is the knowledge and skill of the artisan that
ultimately makes the greatest balsamic.
Upstairs in the museum's attic there were about 12 to 14 different sets of barrels. One of them belong to Slow Food. I first read about Slow Food when I was researching different restaurant options in Bologna. Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance
of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the
food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices
affect the rest of the world. I love the idea of making conscious decisions about what you eat & where it came from. And this type of food isn't necessarily fancy food. When I was talking to our tour guide about Slow Food she said, "In America, pizza is considered fast food but for us that isn't always the case. You can have pizza that is made with organic flour, fresh tomatoes, and buffalo mozzarella. You don't eat this pizza on the go. You sit down in a restaurant and you enjoy it with your family & friends. That is what slow food is all about."
Before the vinegar is bottled for sale, each artisan producer presents his barrel(s) to
the Consorzio. A panel of five “masters” tastes the balsamic “blind”
(i.e., the identity of the producer
is not known) to ensure it meets the specific criteria of production
and quality. The panel members usually sit at individual stations
separated by privacy panels, and are provided with a candle, a ceramic
spoon, bread and water to clear the palate and a checklist. A series of up to 90
tests is performed by each taster, focusing on visual aspects, aroma
and flavor. After each taster rates the samples, the scores are
averaged and the group discusses each sample. If it gets enough points,
the barrel is accepted and bottled. On a scale of 400 points, 229 are
required for 12-year-olds, 255 for 25-year-olds. Rejected bottles are
returned to the producer for further aging and adjustment.
Stringent
requirements don’t end here. Both the design of the hand-blown
bottle and the storage conditions are rigidly dictated.
To be sure that what is approved is what gets bottled, the approved batch never
leaves the supervision of the Consortium.
- They bottle and label it, and
give each bottle a seal and a number. Twelve-year-old bottles get ivory
caps with the D.O.P. initials (Denominazione di Origine Protetta, indicating a product of protected origin), 25-year-olds get gold caps.
- Each
bottle’s number is recorded: It can be tracked. Each member has an
allocation and cannot sell more than his registered production capacity.
- The
bottles are numbered and labeled with one of three different colored
labels indicating the quality of the artisan vinegar: gold, silver and
red. They will be entitled to the label, aceto balsamico tradizionale. Making
fine balsamic is a time-intensive process, not only in the initial
production, but in maintaining the stock over the years until it is
ready for release. It explains the high price for such a small amount
of vinegar. Shown below: labels for tradizionale vecchio (yellow) and extra vecchio (pink).
No two artisanal balsamics will taste the same. Each
has been decanted into several different barrels and varieties of wood.
The casks are highly prized and many are hundreds of years old. The
interiors are shaved down and when a cask deteriorates, the artisan
will use the salvageable parts in the production of a new cask to
preserve as much of the aged and seasoned wood as possible—even if all
that can be preserved is a rib or two
Today commercial production of authentic balsamic
vinegar is governed by a consortium or producers, Consorzio Produttori
Aceto Balsamico di Modena (Consortium of Producers of Balsamic Vinegar
of Modena). The Consorzio ensures the strictest controls by supervising
every aspect of the production, from the harvesting of the grapes to
the packaging and labeling of the bottles. Even the shape of the bottle
is mandated.
True aceto balsamico
has an Italian government designation of D.O.C. (Denominazione di
Origine Controllata, similar to the French A.O.C. designation), which
means that everything from the grape varietals to aging time and the
type of wood of the barrels adheres to exact standards.
- The
grapes must be of the Trebbiano and Lambrusco varietals (though a few
others are allowed in small quantities), and entirely harvested from
the vineyards of the region.
- The vinegar must be aged in barrels of at least five types of specified wood.
- The vinegar must be aged for minimum of 12 years.
In 2000, the European Union bestowed the D.O.P. status (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) status upon Aceto Balsamico di Modena. This
means that not just that the ingredients must come from the specified
geographical area, but that all phases of production must take place in
the area.
There are other balsamic consorzios. In 2000, Giovanni Leonardi and other producers of fine condimento balsamicos established the Consorzio di Balsamico Condimento to distinguish the top-quality condimentos
from those of lesser quality.
After the tour S & I were able to sample & compare the 12 & 25 year tradizionale balsamico vinegar. The taste was amazing. I couldn't believe how thick the vinegar was; it looked more like syrup with a perfect balance of tartness & sweet flavors. Now when we see or taste the tradizionale we can fully appreciate all the work and patience that goes into producing this fine balsamico vinegar. Of course we couldn't leave Modena without buying a bottle of the tradizionale. I look forward to drizzling a little on strawberries or a slice of the parmesean we purchased in Bologna or better yet drinking a spoonful just like we did on our tour.
from our local chocolatier. It was a small price to pay for such a memorable experience.
