I’ve sacrificed on various diets to shed some pounds throughout the more than two decades writing this column.
I’ve mentioned in previous writings that often a farm-fresh garden salad with flaked tuna and a hefty drizzle of Balsamic vinegar blended with a fine virgin olive oil served as my calorie-saving lunch menu staple. Saturated with flavor and fiber but light on those ingredients that lead to added weight gain, this appetizing option was always satisfying.
Balsamic vinegar was also the new (yet old) flavor rage of the early 2000s.
While selecting bottled Balsamic vinegar from the store shelf, what I didn’t realize is that reading the fine print on labels can counter true branding.
Billed as “one of Italy’s most hallowed agri-foods,” Balsamic Vinegar of Modena recently emailed me a news alert asking me to set the record straight for readers, cooks and food writers such as myself.
This manufacturer emphasizes they have the only true roots based in Italy to claim Balsamic vinegar as its own pure accomplishment. While some early versions of this condiment were introduced as a basic “wine vinegar and cooked grape,” over time, the fermentation and aging of these ingredients gave rise to Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI, or Protected Geographical Indication, produced exclusively in the fertile provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia, distinctions that allow this company to stake its culinary claims.
I’m told Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI is distributed in more than 130 countries around the globe, with a production that is around 95 million liters a year, and of which 93% is exported, earning it the tag as “black gold.”
Founded in 1993, the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Consortium represents and safeguards Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI and its exclusive farmland producers while promoting the product in the homeland of Italy and abroad. It was through the efforts of the Consortium that the product received its PGI status in 2009.
Since 2014, the Consortium has been recognized by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies (Mipaaf) as the Consortium for the Protection of the PGI, “responsible for carrying out the public functions of promotion, defense and protection of the product.” The producers have an agricultural history dating back to the 1900s, starting from the first formal recognition issued by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1933.
I am especially in awe of the historical connection with the first origins dating back to Roman times.
At the end of the first millennium, the monk Donizone referred in notes to a “very particular and perfect” vinegar. By the end of the Renaissance, the vinegar factories of the Modena court were active and the pride of the Este family before 1800, when the dynasties of producers took hold.
The cooking of grapes was common in ancient Roman times as cited by the poet Virgil, sharing that it was “used for medicinal purposes.” It was in 1046 when the first official reference to early balsamic vinegar from Henry II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, echoed mentions of a “very perfect vinegar” gifted to him by the Marquis Canossa, as documented in historical archives.
Italy recognizes the birthplace of balsamic vinegar was in the vinegar cellars of the Estense court in Modena and by the early 1500s, in honor of the birth of her first child, Lucrezia Borgia, wife of Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Modena, balsamic vinegar was used as an elixir during childbirth.
Roasted pork belly with a delectable glaze of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI offers both acidic sharpness and a balance of sweetness to complement the richness of the succulent meat strip. For an autumnal flavor profile, the pork belly can be paired and plated with roasted fall squash and ground pumpkin seeds. (Philip Potempa/for Post-Tribune)
Chef Joel Ramirez of the downtown Chicago restaurant Avec uses Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI for the glaze on one of my favorite dishes (which is a definite menu contrast to the days of diet salads): Glazed Pork Belly.
Chef said in a news release with his treasured recipe that Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI is best suited for kitchen recipe preparation, “as it retains all its acidic sharpness that helps balance the sweetness of the glaze and cuts the richness of the pork belly.” For an autumnal flavor profile, he serves the pork belly with roasted fall squash and ground pumpkin seeds, all plated heavenly as a fall feast. And as a bonus, it’s an easy recipe to prepare.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is a radio host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Pork Belly
Makes 4 servings
4 pounds skinless pork belly
2 cups salt
1 cup sugar
1tsp pink curing salt
1 cup cane syrup
1/2 cup Italian saba
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI
Directions:
To make glaze, cook the cane syrup and saba over medium-low heat until it becomes thick but not
burnt. Once very thick, allow to cool slightly and whisk in the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena PGI and season with salt set aside.
To prepare the pork belly, mix together salt, sugar and pink salt and generously coat pork belly on all sides. Allow to sit overnight or at least 8 hours to cure. Rinse off cure and pat belly dry.
Wrap the belly in parchment with the seam side down so it is encased like a package and place into a deep pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 2 hours at 350 degrees (or until a knife inserted through the thickest part of the belly has slight resistance).
Unwrap belly and place onto a sheet tray lined with parchment. Allow to cool at room temperature.
Turn the oven to 450 degrees and bake the belly until golden. Brush with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena glaze and serve.
Dining and Cooking