Day 31 - The Olive Oil Journey

Modena, Italy --> Bologna, Italy | November 25th, 2022

I wake up, write, clean up, pick up the car, drive it back to the apt, grab my 2 bags while keeping the car in the tow-away zone for 7 minutes (no tow-away...win).

9:30 visit to Acetaia Giusti which has been in operation since 1610 - first in Pork and eventually transitioned to Balsamic. 1 hour tour, then a meeting with a Giusti for 30 minutes, then it gets a bit interesting.

My two best options for travel were:

(1) go to London out of Milan to see the England vs USA game in the afternoon or

(2) go to Tel Aviv from Bologna the next morning.

I head in the direction of Milan and stop at Parma - known for Prosciutto di Parma and quality Parmesan Cheese. Once in Parma I decide to abandon London and book straight to Tel Aviv, which is out of Bologna - the complete opposite direction (but only a 1.5 hour drive). I also had some time to kill before the 6:25am flight now.

Along the way from Parma to Bologna I stop in Emilia-Reggio. Went to 3 different local spots door to door based on Apple Maps search and learned some intricacies of the different DOP of this region versus Modena. I was happy to get the opportunity to see Emilia-Reggio before heading out.

Final stop before airport: Bologna parking lot. I arrive at 6pm, pay for 2 hours, and stay through midnight. Bologna was pretty with cool local meats shops and food markets.

Oil snob me actually had the cojones to ask for a new dish after the oil on the tuna was 100% rancid and completely impacted the flavor. Debatable move.

Rest of the night was world cup and some more Friday beers.

1 Olive Oil Takeaway

2 Separate DOP regions exist in Balsamic Vinegar: Emilia-Reggio and Modena.

In Modena, there are 2 Types of DOP Balsamic Classifications: 12 Year DOP and 25 Year Extra Vecchio. In Emilio-Reggio, there is also a third 20 year Balsamic Classification.

Balsamics get richer and tastier with age thus the price of the 25 year > price of 20 year > price of 12 year. Whereas DOP Olive Oil are bottled by producers or separately, DOP Balsamic is only bottled by the consortium (regulating authority), in identical bottles (Modena and Emilia-Reggio have different shapes). Any other bottle shape without the DOP seal of approval is not an official DOP Balsamic. This is meant to be a defense to fraud.

Below the 12 year in quality is IGP certified - less strict, less expensive, looser regulations. These are more par for the course for Aged Balsamics, and below these often lie the commercial young Balsamics, which are lighter and super acidic (these are the Balsamics I've hated all my life). Most balsamic you probably encounter is commercial grade cheap balsamic.

-Jack

Thank you for reading and welcome to the blog! I'm traveling through Europe on a quest to find great Olive Oil.