396 months and not a single day like today!!!!
What started out as our anniversary day, with all the excitement of experiencing our 396 month or approximately our 12,000th day together as a married couple, ended with having some of the most unique and enjoyable experiences ever.
Breakfast, while amazing, was the launch point to being escorted across the street by Bruno, our B and B host, to his cheese making “factory”. Perhaps “barn” is a better description.
Parmeggiano-Reggiano
When we arrived at 9:30, his partner was actually heating and hand testing the milk to see if it had started to curdle…which takes about 10 minutes. All by feel, not with automated machinery, the cheese man knew when the batch was perfectly ready to be drained of whey and poured into the mold for future Parmigiano-Reggiano deliciousness. We now understand, although it costs more, that it is worth every penny from the local market.
We enjoyed the softest and sweetest young cheese right after it had been made from pure milk.
We saw the initial short term (a few weeks) storage area, where the $500 rounds build their firmness and saltiness.
Then we went to the “locker”, the innocuous brick building that has recently been alarmed, since twice before folks had come in and stolen some of the wheels…
A true labor of love…and requiring great patience and prayer to hopefully receive some profit two years hence.
From our walking tour of cheese heaven, we went to our second organized tour of the day…Prosciutto di Parma. Silvia, only 19 years old but an expert in every aspect of her father’s business is a true entrepreneur…she also runs a B and B near the local castle and has just finished high school. If there are any young men who would enjoy a life of Italian countryside, hard working, pork smelling, breakfast making, room cleaning and money making experience, let me know and I’ll introduce you to Silvia. Only one, small potential issue…if you make papa mad, you could end up hanging on one of the ham hooks in a 1 degree cold storage roomJ. Oh yeah, she also likes black metal music like slipknot ?
She knows every stage of the prosciutto making process from where the pig thighs enter the building, get some salt after a brush down, hang for a while until they get colder for 2 weeks, and a bit more salt added prior to the long hang…nearly a year..
Lunch was excellent on their patio…and we
Were gifted with the exact hat I always wanted…
Time for organized tour #3! Traditional Balsamic Vinegar.
I now understand the difference between red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, balsamic vinegar from Modena and TRUE Traditional Balsamic Vinegar. The latter also being a labor of love…since, like the cheese, takes a few years before you reap any profit, and you are in God’s hands as to what the market might need at that time. Our host, Allesandra, was both an actress and a recently returned family member who now wants to carry on this amazing business.
Pure grapes, picked with about 7 percent alcohol, spend much of their next 12-25 years in ever shrinking sized barrels
until all of the alcohol has turned into sugar and then vinegar.
They recommend a sparkling Lambrusco red and cold wine to help one enjoy the local food, but when it comes to their vinegar, only a drop or two will suffice to transform a piece of cheese, or gelato or fruit.
We gifted each other with a small bottle of each of their three qualities of traditional balsamic:
Lobster (or red label), Silver and then Gold. It takes a long 10 or so seconds for each drop of Gold to find itself free from its bottle onto your awaiting spoon…amazing…
Returning to our B and B, we prepared for our Anniversary Dinner at the Vecchio Mulino (Old Mule). Known for their pasta
prosciutto and grilled meats,
we were not disappointed with any dish.
A joyful 33rd anniversary with our dearest friends and long time anniversary dinner partners, Jim and Christine.
A day to remember is in the books…and what a great day it was! Ciao Bella!!!
2 comments:
Wow! Wish i could have been there. Whoa.I was there! Amen. Love you both. Jim
Aw, how sweet! Next Wednesday is our 28th month...think Jeremy should take me to Italy? :)
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