Life is like balsamic vinegar.
Here I am in Modena, Italia. Having lived here for 8 months, I only 6 days ago experienced this corner of Italia's magic component. The world of Balsamic Vinegar production. Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena. Ok. Hold your excitement. :) No, it seriously is an incredible process and has a fantastic history.
I am not organized enough technologically at the moment to upload my photos from last Sunday's visit, but these ones are legit and parallel in their content. Ok? Ok. 
Ah, wait. There is one here that someone emailed me of me and Monica eating salad with strawberries and the real balsamic vinegar we had just seen and learned about in the attic of the villa... the wife and husband had both given the tours and then the daughter and wife brought out all kinds of great food that they had made for our pranzo (lunch). Proschiutto di Parma with cheeses and an amazing focaccia-like bread squares that had rosemary and other things cooked into it (still HOT from the oven)... and amazing crustatine (sp?)-- a pie-like desert with crust (like cookie crust) with an either apricot or other jammy like top-layer. .... Ah, and I should add, that the whole balsamic vinegar this is even more interesting because in this corner of the world, people cook pasta with it, meat, and even DESSERTS. Yes, it's quite the universe of unexpected recipes. The TRADITIONAL vinegar is THICK and sweet and quite another story than what the rest of the world thinks of when they think of 'balsamic vinegar'. (see the end of this post for more particulars about different kinds of Aceto Balsamico...)
Ah, wait. There is one here that someone emailed me of me and Monica eating salad with strawberries and the real balsamic vinegar we had just seen and learned about in the attic of the villa... the wife and husband had both given the tours and then the daughter and wife brought out all kinds of great food that they had made for our pranzo (lunch). Proschiutto di Parma with cheeses and an amazing focaccia-like bread squares that had rosemary and other things cooked into it (still HOT from the oven)... and amazing crustatine (sp?)-- a pie-like desert with crust (like cookie crust) with an either apricot or other jammy like top-layer. .... Ah, and I should add, that the whole balsamic vinegar this is even more interesting because in this corner of the world, people cook pasta with it, meat, and even DESSERTS. Yes, it's quite the universe of unexpected recipes. The TRADITIONAL vinegar is THICK and sweet and quite another story than what the rest of the world thinks of when they think of 'balsamic vinegar'. (see the end of this post for more particulars about different kinds of Aceto Balsamico...)Ok. back to the story...
Traditional balsamic vinegar processing/creation or as my Italian guide said: 'transformation' takes 12 - 25 years. It has been parallel to generations and generations of families' lives and legacies in this corner of the nation. On Sunday, my amica italiana Monica and I joined many other Bologna friends to visit a little villa tucked away on one of the busy thoroughfares of Modena Centro (the center of Modena). I have passed that spot so many times without noticing the ivy-covered gate that is separating this magical home from the rest of the world. The home has been around for over a century-- when only farm lands encircled the dwelling-- and the same family line has lived 
within its walls. A huge part of their life is making traditional balsamic vinegar (the package is photoed here).
At one point, Monica and I walked away from the group just after tasting about 5 different types of the vinegar (either 12 or 25 years old, some made in only one kind of wood's barrel or multiple wood types, etc.). We stepped into the office room where, on the walls, were family photos, boxing gloves and a boxing photo in black and white of (as we later found out) our guide's father at the turn of the century. Their family legacy was laid out before our eyes.
within its walls. A huge part of their life is making traditional balsamic vinegar (the package is photoed here).At one point, Monica and I walked away from the group just after tasting about 5 different types of the vinegar (either 12 or 25 years old, some made in only one kind of wood's barrel or multiple wood types, etc.). We stepped into the office room where, on the walls, were family photos, boxing gloves and a boxing photo in black and white of (as we later found out) our guide's father at the turn of the century. Their family legacy was laid out before our eyes.
There were two groups making a tour since the house is small and our company was large-- and I found myself on the only-Italian tour, remarkably and joyfully able to understand every word. Every word. (Cheers to my Italian teacher Stefania. Props, Stefania. Props. :)...)
The grey haired and oh-so-fit and lively tall man told us about how unlike the process of making wine-- (with wine, the barrels are kept underground, in a cellar, a cave, etc. so that the temperature is CONSTANT)-- balsamic vinegar is made because of THE WIND-- because of the changes in seasons.
Modena and the Modenese province is unique in that its winters often bring up to -10°C temperatures and its summers, 40°C temperatures. A difference of 50 degrees. Traditional villas were once built (my 63 year old student Giuseppe let me know in our Thursday lesson) with a little room-- looking like a midget house-- on the roof of the house. This little room would have glass-less windows with cross ventilation. The tops of the barrels, (the battery is photoed below, along with the cool glass eye-drop-like instrument they use to suck up the vinegar to look at it), are always left with their little wooden caps open, so 
that the winds of the seasons will flow through.
that the winds of the seasons will flow through. At many junctures from my second year of university (2002) until now, I have chewed on the topic of seasons-- and how our lives also, internally, have 'seasons' not dissimilar from the natural seasons in nature. For example: the spring of the soul (where I find myself today it seems) is messy. The weather is unpredictable. One day it's glorious, the next a storm. It can even snow sometimes. It's messy too because fertilizer stinks up the air as growth starts to happen. Growth is unseen, etc.
Anyway, this whole balsamic vinegar component of how the 'transformation' as my Italian man said NEEDS the variations, the dramatic rises and falls of temperatures and humidity, the ironic consistent inconsistencies of nature. EVERY SEASON's unique contribution is crucial. Not just every season in a year, but 12 YEARS. 24 YEARS! 48 SEASONS. 66 SEASONS. 12 or 24 cycles of similar themes, but expressed completely different over that time-span. TIME. Lots and lots of time.
My student Giuseppe also said something that I liked so much, I wrote down (a common occurence for me though. I am ALWAYS writing down my students' suggestions, recommendations, quotes, sayings in Italian, etc.). I don't have the paper with me, but he said something about how balsamic vinegar is all about WAITING and FORGETTING. Forgetting until you have to do the once-a-year task of filling and refilling the barrels 1/3 of the way. ... I will say that I have found life of late to be defined by waiting, not thinking about the change, and just being moved by the wind-- being impacted by the weather-- being tossed about and altered because of waiting, forgetting, and the wind.
I was with my favorite group of students 2 nights ago, and after our lesson had finished (at the lovely late-night-hour of 10 pm), we still sat around (we've bonded hardcore over the months and really gel well all together personality-wise and life stage-wise) and were talking a bit about the challenges we are all facing in our lives with decisions, hard schedules, work demands, etc. I thought to myself, and talked with them about the thought that, maybe we wished all processes of growth/becoming/'transformation' would be like the process of making wine. Consistent. Sheltered. Controlled. Underground/Hidden. But maybe, maybe, we also need the process of 'transformation' like the process of balsamic vinegar making. Being moved by the wind. Being open, vulnerable, and subject to winds, temperatures, and all unpredictable changes that sweep through the open windows surrounding.
The 4 of us talked that night a bit about how it could be true. Maybe life sometimes, maybe life right now for us with our semi-parallel challenges, is like the whole balsamic vinegar thing. We got a little quiet at that thought, smiled at each other, and then moved into joking around again and stepping into the oh-so-warm night air.
Cheers to yet another wondrous component to this gorgeous soil that I call home and have called home and will call home for not-much-more. Ah. So good.
___________________________________
A Little Lesson (thanks to the Internet Engine):
Traditional Balsamic vinegar makers have a minimum of 5-6 different size casks (with a maximum of 10-12) made of different types of wood called a battery. The must is successively decanted in a process called rincalzo into casks of different woods, e
ach progressively smaller. For example, the must may move from a 60-liter oak cask to a 50-liter chestnut cask to a 40-liter cherry wood cask to a 30-liter ash cask to a 20-liter mulberry cask. Each different type of wood contributes to the taste of the vinegar as it ages. The casks have a hole on the top which is partially covered to allow evaporation. As the must ages in each cask, evaporation reduces the volume and intensifies the flavor. As much as 85% of the volume is lost in evaporation. This means that in 12 years, the original 60-liters will be reduced to only 9-liters of vinegar! (and this photo is of Trebbiano grapes, the particular kind used to create Aceto Balsamico di Modena.)
ach progressively smaller. For example, the must may move from a 60-liter oak cask to a 50-liter chestnut cask to a 40-liter cherry wood cask to a 30-liter ash cask to a 20-liter mulberry cask. Each different type of wood contributes to the taste of the vinegar as it ages. The casks have a hole on the top which is partially covered to allow evaporation. As the must ages in each cask, evaporation reduces the volume and intensifies the flavor. As much as 85% of the volume is lost in evaporation. This means that in 12 years, the original 60-liters will be reduced to only 9-liters of vinegar! (and this photo is of Trebbiano grapes, the particular kind used to create Aceto Balsamico di Modena.)
Tradizionale: True balsamic vinegar is tightly controlled by a consortia in Modena and Reggio Emilia that govern every aspect of how the vinegar is produced and aged (including the shape of the bottle and the foil used on the cap!). True balsamic vinegar wears the name Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena or di Reggio Emilia on the label. Tradizionale is the key word. It must be aged for a minimum of twelve years in wooden casks and be approved by master tasters. Small bottles of tradizionale balsamic vinegar start at about $75 and go upwards of $400. (And, I'll interject here that there's this whole process of analyzing the vinegar to determine if it's TRUE 'traditional' vinegar or not with a panel and all these forms and processes etc. They keep a barrel of every single producer's vinegar in a 'library' of vinegars :) so that if someone buys a bottle of traditional vinegar and it's not ok, they will check the number on the bottle-- which corresponds with a barrel in the vinegar warehouse/library-- and taste it to see if it's legit or not. !!!)
Condimento Balsamico: Vinegar makers who do not live in Modena or Reggio Emilia, or who don't want to endure the strict governace of the consortia, produce vinegar the same way, but may not age the vinegar for a minimum of 12-years. These vinegars are grouped under the name, condimento balsamico, and may be called salsa balsamica or salsa di mosto cotto.
Condimento Balsamico: Vinegar makers who do not live in Modena or Reggio Emilia, or who don't want to endure the strict governace of the consortia, produce vinegar the same way, but may not age the vinegar for a minimum of 12-years. These vinegars are grouped under the name, condimento balsamico, and may be called salsa balsamica or salsa di mosto cotto.
Aceto Balsamico di Modena: Then there is Aceto Balsamico di Modena which may or may not be aged in wood and it isn't aged for a long period of time. Sometimes it is a mixture of concentrated grape juice, strong vinegar and caramel coloring. Sometimes it is a mixture of red-wine vinegar and caramel. This is the type of balsamic vinegar probably makes up 75% of the balsamic vinegar found in grocery stores in the US.
posted by )(( hannah mello ))( @ 6:21 AM
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