[Sca-cooks] Documenting balsamic? Slow progress

Wed Feb 2 09:34:37 PST 2011

It's sounds like it is made from must / saba not wine. I've found some other 
interesting websites, but I'm still dissatisfied with the sources as far as 
being able to say confidently that I can prove it beyond stories- they mention 
"13th-century paintings depicting the batteria in the attic" batteria being the 
aging casks the vinegar matures in, but what painting? There is no artist or 
title named. Interested in doing some long term experimentation with me, David? 
It would require finding barrels out of at least 5 of the following woods, in 
decreasing sizes - acacia, ash, cherry, chestnut, juniper, mulberry, oak and 
walnut. We would need to take some must from Modena varietals like Lambrusco, 
Trebbiano and Spergola, and start them aging in the barrels and decant them into 
the next smallest size as they condense and evaporate for at least 3-5 years. 
Quite a long haul project, but once we got it rolling we could have a constant 
supply of delicious and fairly authentic balsamic. :) 

This one is my favorite so far as it talks about the grades of balsamic and how 
to tell an authentic one from imitation, as well as their version of it's 
history and production methods, : 
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/oils/about-balsamic-vinegar.asp 

"The History of Balsamic Vinegar 
Balsamic vinegar—or what is believed to be balsamic, as the written record is 
sparse—has been made since at least the 11th century. What is considered to be 
the first historical reference is in 1046: It is recorded that a well-known 
vinegar, laudatum acetum, produced in Canossa, a town in the province of Reggio 
Emilia, was given in a silver bottle as a present by the Marquis Bonifacio to 
the soon-to-be Holy Roman Emperor Enrico III of Franconia, when he passed 
through the area en route to Rome. 

It is assumed, but can’t be verified, that the laudatum acetum was the same 
product we recognize as balsamic. It also was indicated in records that begin in 
the 1500s, via the writings of the poet Ludovico Ariosto (author of Orlando 
Furioso and native of Reggio Emilia) at the Estensi court. “Black vinegar” was 
mentioned as a mix of sour vinegar and saba (sweetened vinegar), with a typical 
bitter-sweet flavor.
In the 16th century, when the Estensi court moved to Modena, the first evidences 
of balsamic vinegar appear. Documents reveal it to have qualities that 
distinguish it from common vinegar and describe how to produce it, specifying 
that must from Trebbiano grapes must be left to mellow in an attic for several 
years. By the 1700s, it was recognized rare and valuable enough to be used as a 
special occasion vinegar and served to VIPs. 

In its early days, balsamic vinegar was very available only to the nobility and 
the artisans who made it—themselves aristocrats. It was believed to be a miracle 
cure for everything from a sore throat to labor pains (the name balsamic, from 
balm, is derived from its purported medicinal properties, including its use as a 
protection against the plague)."

If I can prove the part about it being recommended to ease labor pains that 
would be an amazing cross over into my research on child birth and food 
recommendations during pregnancy in Renaissance Italy! 

My first real lead is a mention on this website 
http://www.godoc.it/history.htm of a medical treatise " of the government of the 
plague and of the ways of bewaring of it " written by Ludovico Antonio Muratori 
describing the medical uses of the vinegar- I'm off to hunt it down! I'll post 
more if I find anything. Anyone with interest or mad library skills are 
definately welcome to join in the hunt!
From my preliminary searches it looks like he may be a post- period historian so 
while his writing may not prove to be very useful in terms of proving the use of 
Balsamic vinegar during our time he might provide further sources to search 
backwards. 

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V9C-4M1TSPN-1&_user=582538&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2006&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1628275245&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000029718&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=582538&md5=81a0657250f4d62bbbf8f64d5e111186&searchtype=a

In joyous service, 
Raffaella 

________________________________
From: David Walddon <david at vastrepast.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Tue, February 1, 2011 7:27:46 PM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Documenting balsamic?

Interesting that it says the juice is blended and boiled and then placed in the 
vinegar barrels. 

So you are making vinegar from saba not from wine when you make balsamic? 
I thought the thickening came from the aging not from the boiling? 

Also maybe there are recipes in the wine corpus rather than the cookbook corpus. 

David 

________________________________________________________

Food is life. May the plenty that graces your table truly be a VAST REPAST. 

David Walddon
david at vastrepast.com
www.vastrepast.net

On Feb 1, 2011, at 11:58 AM, Raphaella DiContini wrote:

> Greetings, 
>      I've just finally done the next round of recipes from Libro di cucina/ 
> Libro per cuoco and I'm in the process of writing up the recipes and 
>experience. 
>
> It's a set of three sauces, with the last two being variations of the first 
>with 
>
> different meat, and slightly different cooking variants, XIV Ciuiro or sauce 
> black to ash gray for boar,  XV Ciuiro or relish for hind (deer, venison) etc. 

> ,and XVI Ciuiro for meat of roebuck or of hare. When I've interpreted this 
> recipe in the past, I've used balsamico because it helped give this "black" 
> sauce a nice dark color without toasting the bread to the point of giving the 
> sauce a burnt flavor (which I've tried to varying degrees of success). This 
>time 
>
> I used red wine vinegar as I haven't been able to find solid documentation on 
> the use of balsamic vinegars in Venice at this time, although many of the 
> companies that produce it claim it dates back long before. I honestly like the 

> color, and complexity of flavor better with the balsamic, but don't want to use 
>
> or recommend it if it isn't plausibly appropriate in this context. 
> 
>  
> My apologies if this has already been discussed here before and I simply missed 
>
> seeing it in the archives. I did a quick search of Stefan's Florilegium and 
> found one article on vinegars ( What's so special about Vinegar by Mistress 
> Christianna MacGrain) that quotes from a couple of companies websites which are 
>
> no longer available to check to see if they sites sources:
>  "At the web site of Alessi, one of the larger commercial balsamic vinegar 
> producers, they say (at http://www.vigo.com/BALSAMIC.htm): "Balsamic vinegar 
>has 
>
> been made for hundreds of years. It originated in the Modena region of Italy, 
> and until recently only those regions were privileged to experience its 
> delights. It is recorded that in 1046 A.D., Boniface, marquis of Bologna, made 
>a 
>
> gift of Balsamic Vinegar to Henry III, the Holy Roman Emperor. Like in wine 
> making, each family had their own special recipe. The Balsamic Vinegar was aged 
>
> up to 25 years or more, and sometimes spiced with herbs and seasonings. "
> According to the web site of Master Choice 
> (http://www.masterchoice.com/vinegar.htm), another commercial balsamic vinegar 

> producer, the traditional production of balsamic vinegar goes like this: "After 
>
> pressing, the juices of the trebbiano and lambrusco grapes that are typical to 

> the Emilia-Romagna region are blended and boiled over fire, and then poured 
>into 
>
> barrels of oak, chestnut, cherry, mulberry and ash. For years, the juice ages, 

> ferments and condenses naturally, gradually transforming into vinegar. Every 
> year, the liquid is mixed with younger vinegars and placed in a series of 
> smaller and smaller barrels. The vinegar absorbs much of its aroma from the oak 
>
> and its color from the chestnut. Then after five years, the vinegar is 
>bottled." 
>
> "
> Does anyone have any more traceable, sited sources for the making and use of 
> Balsamic vinegars in Italy around or before the time of this manuscript? A 
> source that indicates use in Venice would be hitting it out of the park, but 
>I'd 
>
> be happy with something that could reliably show when it started being used in 

> Italy in general. Like cheeses, they often don't state what type of vinegar to 

> use, and I'd LOVE to be able to occasionally use balsamic in recreations if the 
>
> application calls for it and feel that it's a valid and historically plausible 

> option.  
> In joyous service, 
> Raffaella 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Sca-cooks mailing list
> Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org

_______________________________________________
Sca-cooks mailing list
Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org