It's a typical Saturday afternoon at the Mercato di Mezzo, a quaint little market area off Bologna's Piazza Maggiore. This network of ancient Roman streets, which used to be home to the city's craftsmen, are alive with hustle and bustle: old men engage in animated conversation; lovers eat ice creams; stallholders call out their specials and shoppers crowd around the fish, fruit, cheese and meat stalls.
'There's been a food shop here for centuries and until 1976 you could still see pigs being smoked inside,' says owner Giovanni Tamburini, pointing to a collection of hooks still attached to the ceiling. 'We sell 95 types of hand-made pasta, 250 types of cheese and 150 types of salami.' It's an apt beginning to our gourmet journey through Emilia Romagna, an Italian province in northern Italy that is legendary for its food.
Traditional balsamic vinegar is made by placing the must in a series of decreasing-sized barrels that are constructed of different timbers such as chestnut, cherry, mulberry, juniper and oak. At the beginning of the process when the vinegar is in the largest barrel, more porous woods are required to facilitate evaporation; at the end of the process the harder woods are more suitable for conserving the aged vinegar.
'The scorching-hot summers really heat the attics where the barrels are stored so the must evaporates as it condenses,' says Paltrinieri. 'Modena's sharp winters are also essential for the process.'