Italian Food Experience: Part Two - Prosciuto di Modena

Like parmigiano reggiano, prosciutto di modena has strict measure to ensure only the most premium quality and ensures that the proscuito can only come from this specific region in Italy.

Im not much of a meat eater but this prosciutto was incredible.  Having seen the meat in every stage of its fourteen month curing process I had a new appreciation for how much work goes into these artisan products.

Pug in Pugs

Italian Food Experience: Part One - Parmigiano-Reggiano

Today I went on what I can only describe as the most enlightening food experience I have ever had. Italian Days Food Experience is a locally run foodie tour operating out of Bologna. Its a three part tour visiting the origins of Parmigiano-Reggiano, Balsamic Vinegar and Prosciutto.

Today is my post about visiting a Parmigiano-Reggiano factory in the region of Modena.

In a small group of seven we ventures out of Bologna into regional Modena. This factory was fun by just four local men that produce thousands of wheels of A-Grade Parmigiano-Reggiano a year. The biggest standout from this visit is that Parmigiano-Reggiano, like Champagne, is a product that can only called so if coming from the region of Modena and under strict regulations including the dairy cows diet!

The cheese starts life in a 1100L heated mixer. It contains of half skim, half full fat milk that is heated until the curd sinks to the bottom of the mixer.


Each of these mixers can only produce a maximum of two wheels of cheese at a time! The curd is removed and molded for two weeks until it is a solid mass and the whey is removed completely. It then goes through a salting process where sea salt permeates into the cheese wheel.

The cheese wheels are then dried for up to 14 months. There are three grades of cheese with the highest grade produced more commonly to the lowest grade that cannot carry the Parmigiano-Reggiano name from lack of quality.


Each wheel carries identification numbers to ensure quality control.


This is the best tasting 'Parmesan' I have ever had. It was sharp and grainy and made me itch for a bowl of bolognese to sprinkle it on!!


Next Stop: Balsamic Vinegar

Au Revoir Les Enfants

Leaving Paris for Milan tomorrow and just wanted to show some of the incredible food that i have consumed over the past couple of days.

First of all is Crêpes. I have literally eaten a crêpe a day since I arrived just over a week ago. This evenings was the old favourite of Nutella. However the below photos were from one of my daily visits to Marché Mouffetard. Marché Mouffetard is a little crooked street lined with brasseries, boucheries, fromageries and any other 'eries' you can think of. This crêpe was a mix of edam and chèvre (goats cheese) and was freaking amazing. My love of cheese has no end.


My dinner doesn't normally consist of crêpes but I was particularly hungry this day so I bought this little guy to eat as I continued shopping for the rest of my meal. My dinner time consists of this, further along the cobbled lane I pick up my daily baguette. Fresh, warm and very crusty. I also picked up a Flan à la Pistache for desert (Pistachio Flan). I grabbed a small bottle of Riesling and some beurre (butter) for my bread from the supermarket and make my way back to my apartment to eat it on my balcony and watch the sun go down.



The bars are part of the balcony ballustrade, I was sitting down, I am not staying in a prison.

Au revoir Paris! You will be missed!

Firenze

Stopped in Florence recently and wanted to pick up some leather goods as that is what one does in Florence apparently.

This was my frugal traveler's purchase.

Czeching It Out

I am amidst my organised tour through and can honestly say I was not cut out for bus travel. Tall people are at a serious disadvantage when it comes to transportation. We are not the right fit for airplane seats, buss', tube stations sloping ceilings and bus seats. I feel like I am constantly cramped into a seat with leg room made for amputee's. The only thing that has been this tour's saving grace has been the amazing cities I have seen.

Prague is a stunning city, one that I was excited to see but not one that I had any expectations or preconceived ideas about.

One of Prague's specialties is cheese! So in true food traveler mode I had cheese for all three meals on the full day that I was there. Breakfast was you standard fare with your cheese and deli meat spread. Lunch was a slight more interesting in Prague's Old Town Square with a local selection of street vendors selling their delicious wares.

I tried two different fried cheeses. The first was salty and reminiscent of haloumi


The second was Edam cheese on pastry that was very tasty albeit a little oily.


For dinner I had a potato soup (another Prague specialty) and fried Edam cheese. This time it was purely cheese battered and deep fried. Not something I would normally eat, but hey, its Prague!