CULATELLO
There’s an eerie feeling walking into a salumi dungeon. The smell of ammonium almost suffocating as the mold spores from the exterior soil wraps the culatello (think of it like terroir). They hang from the ceiling and taper down on chains waiting to be plucked for service. It’s a raw sight but one that’s so rich in tradition. Culatello like copper, prosciutto di parma, speck, guanciale, pancetta, and salami are all of my favorites all at once. I don’t really have a preference one of the other but I hope culatello becomes as popular as the majority some day. Only about 10% of Culatello is exported beyond Italy which means their eating their weight in it- good for them.
Our lunch was a Michelin starred experience. I used to be obsessed with the concept of Michelin starred but now I just appreciate a place with great food sourced well and excellent reviews via word of mouth. This was a special spot, though and I was just in awe. Erbazzone or torta as I grew up calling it was placed in my hand deconstructed in the most modern way. Such a bizarre site, only because it’s something so regional and classic and rustic. To see my childhood matured in such a way through a course in the middle of parma was wild. Our main course was tortellini with drips of aged balsamic that reminded me of the chili oil I’d splash on pasta at home— no silly, this was much more exceptional.
ACETO BALSAMICO DI MODENA
I prefer a balsamic tasting to a wine tasting— that’s cool, right? I’ve always heard about the Aceto balsamic and now I got some in my bag straight from the source. I expected a factory of tubes, and vats, and barrels for aging but instead a blue stuccoed home with a sprawling yard and a floor of barrels lining what could once have been bedrooms. Some large and some mini blanketed with a little doiley bonnet to allow for oxidation and pest control. Juniper, oak, cherry are a few of the wood types that saturate the aging grape must. My favorite was the balsamic aged for 25 years in cherry wood barrels— my gosh it was like a decadent cherry jam.