There are very few cases like Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, where its history is "the product". In fact, this fruit of the intelligence and the passion of men has honoured and characterised the most fortunate and most knowledgeable tables for many centuries.
Its ancient roots are for the most part unknown, and surround the "most special vinegar in the world" with a veil of mystery, about where the idea and the production techniques came from, the beginning of the modus operandi passed down through the generations from father to son, which today we call know how.
The earliest ancient writings which mention it date back to the year 1046, when the Emperor of Germany, Henry II, travelling to Rome for the coronation, stopped in Piacenza. From here he wrote to Boniface, Marquis of Tuscany and father of the famous Countess Matilde of Canossa, asking for a gift of a special vinegar which "he had heard flows in the most perfect manner". Within the very walls of the castle which was to become very famous a few years later for the "pardon" meeting between Pope Gregory VII and the Emperor Henry IV, the story goes that a vinegar was made, elixir and balsam, which was craved desperately by the royalty. These historic facts are told in the poem "Vita Mathildis", written by the monk Donizone, who was the mainbiographer of the Great Countess Matilde. In the XII, XIII and XIV centuries, we know for sure that, in Reggio Emilia, Scandiano and in the other main towns of the territory, vinegar producers formed real consortium-type groups in which all members jealously guarded the secrets of this most precious production.
The earliest ancient writings which mention it date back to the year 1046, when the Emperor of Germany, Henry II, travelling to Rome for the coronation, stopped in Piacenza. From here he wrote to Boniface, Marquis of Tuscany and father of the famous Countess Matilde of Canossa, asking for a gift of a special vinegar which "he had heard flows in the most perfect manner". Within the very walls of the castle which was to become very famous a few years later for the "pardon" meeting between Pope Gregory VII and the Emperor Henry IV, the story goes that a vinegar was made, elixir and balsam, which was craved desperately by the royalty. These historic facts are told in the poem "Vita Mathildis", written by the monk Donizone, who was the mainbiographer of the Great Countess Matilde. In the XII, XIII and XIV centuries, we know for sure that, in Reggio Emilia, Scandiano and in the other main towns of the territory, vinegar producers formed real consortium-type groups in which all members jealously guarded the secrets of this most precious production.
After the imperial imprimatur, during the whole Renaissance period, Balsamic Vinegar often appeared on the tables of the kings and the nobility, particularly at the table of the Dukes of Este. When Alfonso I, Duke of Ferrara, came to reign in 1476, the history of balsamic vinegar received a decisive boost. The whole of the ruling dynasty in the duchy of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Massa, across the centuries up until 1859, enriched the accounts of the history of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar. Lodovico Ariosto, not by chance from Reggio Emilia, writes in the third of his Satires dedicated to his cousin Annibale Malaguzzi, "at my house I'd rather have a turnip to cook, and cooked on a stick I take and mash and spread with a little vinegar and must". In 1863, in a publication by Fausto Sestini, we can clearly read that "in the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia since ancient times a very special quality of vinegar has been prepared, whose appearance and excellent aroma led them to call it Balsamic Vinegar".
The testimonies of Balsamic Vinegar become more frequent in the 1800's, particularly in the dowry lists of the noble families from Reggio Emilia. At that time it was in fact customary to enrich the dowry of the noble women who were to be married with jars of precious balsamic vinegar and sets of little barrels with the same precious content. The rest is history of our times.
But at the end of all this, after so much history, what exactly is this noble vinegar, how is it made? Let's take a closer look at this authentic elixir which is so capable of heightening the flavour of our cooking and adding a touch of perfection to our dishes, from the most elaborate and refined to the most simple and "humble" ones. Tradition Balsamic Vinegar from Reggio Emilia comes from the most simple sugar and vinegar fermentation of cooked must. But the real secret and 'knowledge' of the Reggio Emilia Balsamic Vinegar lies in the ageing process which is carried out in sets of different wooden barrels over a long period of time, and in any case never less than 12 years. The refining of the bouquet which grows ever more intense, delicate and pleasant to smell and to taste, is the most complex and delicate phase, and this is when the experience of the master vinegar maker is essential. While the acetification process of ordinary vinegar is based on wine, the production of the precious T.B.V. from Reggio Emilia is based on cooked must. The classical tradition has it that the production is made in small wooden barrels arranged in sets of no less than three. The three production phases are: alcoholic fermentation, acetic oxidisation and ageing. The most common woods used for the barrels are oak, chestnut, mulberry, cherry, ash and juniper, and each one lends a particular aroma to the vinegar and makes it "unique".
Why and when should we use Lobster Red, Silver or Gold? Considering that the balance of a dish is an art form, and as such should be left to your own judgement and gastronomic culture, the first T.B.V. from Reggio Emilia, the "Lobster Red Seal" is above all slightly more sour, with a more pronounced volatile acidity and less sweetness than the others. Thanks to its soft and delicate fragrance and a good level of acidity it is best used to enrich "carpaccio" (sliced raw beef), crudities and salads; it can be used to flavour shellfish, lamb chops, chicken breasts or rare-cooked red meats, just before serving, and is perfect in gravies for game and poultry. The "Silver Seal" has different characteristics, because of further refining. It is used more in its raw form, and less in cooking, due to its softer and sweeter nature. This personality makes it more suitable for pasta and rice dishes, soufflés, risottos, sauces, and light cooking. It has a stronger fragrance, a little on the sweet side, and its acidity is richer and thicker. It is perfect for use as a raw addition to mayonnaise, or in sauces for fish and boiled meat, in vegetable risottos or with scampi, in rich and noble pasta dishes, with fillet of beef duck livers. Its volatile acidity is masked by its fixed acidity, and a sweet and lasting whole taste sensation will make you appreciate its fragrance and after taste. The "Gold Seal" is not used as a dressing, but almost exclusively at the end of a meal. It is an extraordinary and complex product, with rich and harmonious fragrances which tend more to the sweet than to the sour, with a noble, persuasive and persistent structure. It is suitable for strong, well-flavoured and spicy cheeses, for fruit salads with fruits of the forest, strawberries or cherries, for custard cream and ice-cream, for panettone or strudel, but above all it is a real elixir to be sipped from a spoon or drunk from a small glass at the end of the meal. One commandment for the chef is however always valid, for all three of the T.B.V.s from Reggio Emilia: avoid long cooking times; the vinegar should be cooked only for a few moments, just to be heated without losing any of the aromas which have been refined over such a long period of time.