[Sca-cooks] Documenting balsamic?

[Terry Decker]

The story is the first reference to balsamic vinegar is in a letter from 
1046 between Henry II, King of the Germans, and Boniface, Marquess of 
Tuscany, requesting a gift of special vinegar "that flows in the most 
perfect manner."

The story is bunk, but the letter might be real.

The Henry (assuming the date is correct) involved would be Henry III, King 
of the Germans, who in 1046 was on his way to Roman to be crowned Holy Roman 
Emperor by Clement II (whom Henry had made a Bishop in Germany).  Boniface 
III, Margrave of Tuscany (and more to the point, Count of Modena) was an 
ally and strong supporter of both Henry II and Henry III.  Presumably, 
according to one source, the letter was uncovered by Academia Barilla, an 
Italian cooking school, but I have no real evidence for that story.  While a 
letter to the Count of Modena requesting some of his special vinegar is 
suggestive, it does not appear that balsamic vinegar was specifically called 
for.

As Henry III was the Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Germans, it may be 
that the letter is in Monumenta Germanica Historica.

Other than that, you might try checking for the House of Este, who became 
rulers of Modena in 1288 and began commercial balsamic vinegar production in 
1891.

Bear


----- Original Message ----- 

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