The aceto balsamico of Modena
Modena, in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, is famous as the home city of Luciano Pavarotti, Panini stickers, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati… and aceto balsamico, its signature exports.
Modena is an ancient city, founded as a Roman colony known as Mutina, in the second century BC. Its historic centre is small and compact, and its startlingly beautiful square is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Half an hour of walking around and you’ve seen it all; but some of Modena’s greatest treasure is hidden in caskets in attics on the outskirts and in the suburbs – the precious dark liquid with the consistency of treacle that is aceto balsamico at its very best, aged for years and extremely valuable.
Modena is now wealthy and has an air of sedate provinciality about it, despite the presence of the Italian super-car marques Lamborghini, Maserati and Ferrari. It has nothing of the teeming hubbub of a metropolis. Its history is curious. It is where Brutus, the notorious assassin of Julius Caesar, came from: his father Marcus Junius Brutus, a populist leader, defended Mutina against a siege by Pompey in the first century BC. The city was driven by hunger to surrender, and Brutus fled, only to be slain not far up the road. After his son killed Caesar, Mutina was laid siege once more, this time by Mark Antony, and again defended by a Brutus, Decimus Junius.
To Cicero in his Philippics, the city was Mutina splendidissima, and it kept its position as the most important city in the new region of Aemilia. But when Rome fell, Mutina’s fortunes faded – though it was never sacked by Attila the Hun as was neighbouring Parma, because it was at the time hidden by a dense fog, a miracle said to be brought about by St Geminianus, the city’s patron. Bad luck followed: Mutina was wiped up by a great flood in the seventh century and abandoned.
Eventually it grew again, and came to form part of the estates of the enormously powerful Este family, who built the citadel and the palace and most of the public buildings. The Estes were driven out by the Bourbon French in the 18th century. The last of the Este rulers, Ercole III, died in exile at Treviso, having refused Napoleonic offers of compensation. His only daughter, Maria Beatrice d’Este, married Ferdinand of Austria, and in the early 19th century, her son took back the Modena estates, bringing about an era of despotic rule and using his Austrian army to put down a rebellion. Tired of his equally harsh son, the civil representatives of Modena in 1859 unilaterally declared the city to be part of the Kingdom of Italy.
Aceto balsamico
Aceto balsamico only grew to international fame when it began to be produced commercially over the last 30 years or so, though the supermarket bottles are nothing like the quality of the aged balsamico in family cellars. Yet it has been produced in the Emilia-Romagna region since at least the 11th century. Well-to-do families cherished (and still do) their aceto balsamico, topping up the casks every year and passing on a precious cask to the eldest of the household on his marriage, so that he may start his own store of the dark liquid. The small bottles were enjoyed by the nobility as a refined drink, and made for valuable gifts, even tempting dowries.
In medieval times, balsamic vinegar was valued for its healing properties; it was thought to be a natural remedy for the plague. The name is a derivation of the word ‘balm’, which in turn is derived from the Latin term ‘balsamum’ that refers to an aromatic resin and something that acts as a reliever or healer with soothing properties. The official name for authentic balsamic vinegar is aceto balsamico tradizionale, and it is fiercely protected.
This speciality of Modena reached wider renown through the Este family in the 18th century. By the turn of the 19th century, balsamico was considered a precious commodity. Modena’s Archduke Francesco IV was famous among heads of state from Paris to Moscow for his special ‘aceto del duca’. He always presented it as a symbol of friendship. The Este family reign ended when his son was overthrown but lore has it that he escaped with barrelfuls of his signature elixir.
With the end of the Este family reign in Modena, aceto balsamico faded into oblivion, unknown even in neighbouring parts of Italy. The secret recipes were kept alive by the wealthier families who made it for their personal use. Making perfect balsamico was considered a form of art and even had symbolic significance. New barrels were started when a child was born, and then given away on marriage.
The grapes harvested must be those used for the wine traditionally cultivated in the province of Modena, particularly the Lambrusco and Trebbiano varieties. The grape-must is cooked and pressed almost simultaneously for several hours over a direct flame until it reaches a concentration of 50%. After this, it is transferred into small wooden barrels of between 20 and 60 litres, which decrease in volume, usually five barrels in all. The barrels are not stored in cellars but in an attic or loft, as it is heat, not coolness as for wine, that is crucial. This accelerates evaporation and hastens the concentration of the sugar. Every year a few litres are drawn from the smallest cask, the reduction of which is compensated by adding more cooked grape-must to the largest cask. This is repeated for at least 12 years (some producers extend ageing for up to 25 years), which is the required time for it to be given Protected Origin Denomination (DOP) status.
Only 35,000-odd 100cl bottles of DOP traditional balsamic vinegar are produced each year in Reggio-Emilia and 90,000 in the adjacent province of Modena – not nearly enough to satisfy global demand. But mass production of the real thing is out of the question.