{"id":42067,"date":"2018-06-06T17:38:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T16:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelemiliaromagna.it\/tales-balsamic-tales-the-origins\/"},"modified":"2022-12-04T09:01:38","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T08:01:38","slug":"tales-balsamic-tales-the-origins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelemiliaromagna.it\/en\/tales-balsamic-tales-the-origins\/","title":{"rendered":"The Balsamic Tales: the Origins"},"content":{"rendered":"

The “Balsamic Tales”<\/strong> are a series of writings dedicated to Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena<\/a>, made from interviews with people who dedicated their lives to this precious dressing, for work or for passion.
\nWe thank PierPaolo Bortolotti, an expert in Traditional Balsamic Vinegar, Emilio Biancardi of Acetaia Villa Bianca<\/a> and Massimo Cl\u00f2 of Collegio San Carlo di Modena<\/a>, for their willingness and precious information.
\nIn this first episode<\/strong>, we will talk about the historical origins<\/strong> of what is now a PDO product protected by a Disciplinary Report and a Consortium.<\/p>\n

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If we should identify a specific place where it all started, this place would be the imposing Ducal Palace of Modena<\/strong><\/a>. Right here, in a side tower of the building that was the seat of the Este Court, the first recognized Acetaie were found. In fact, the first documents with an explicit reference to Balsamic Vinegar and barrels organized in sequence date back to the sixteenth century.<\/p>\n

\"Ducal
Ducal Palace of Modena Ph. FabioDuma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before this testimony, some references to condiments such as vinegar and saba<\/em> (which is cooked must) were found both in texts of the ancient Romans and in some Matildic texts, dated therefore around 1100. Balsamic expression, however, dates back to the 16th century and refers to an “exceptional condiment<\/strong>” found in these Ducal Acetaie.
\nBut if it is called “exceptional” we can suppose it was a product with at least one century of life; so probably we can assume that it was not the Este Court who brought Balsamic Vinegar to Modena, but they found it already in the area.<\/p>\n

Therefore there are no certainties about the origin of Balsamic Vinegar; the most credible theory is that it has been originated from the casual fermentation of the saba<\/em>, a sweet preservable product already present in the local peasant tradition, or as a mixture of saba<\/em> and strong vinegar, which was also used as condiment and preservative; in both cases the same process of acetic fermentation<\/strong> would have started, even if in an extemporaneous form. When producers began to give an organization to the barrels, the batteria<\/em><\/strong> (the barrels’ sequence) was born, which is the fundamental productive element of the Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.<\/p>\n