re: Northern Italy Trip Review (UPDATED Final Day in Modena)

STOP 2: Modena Part 1

Once we left Lake Como, we drove about 3 hours to the town of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region. Very close to Parma, it’s a town with a population of about 100k people, and with a large university there it definitely has a European college-town vibe. For those of you who have watched Master of None on Netflix, it’s the location of the first two episodes in the second season. It’s also heavily featured on the first episode of Chef’s Table. But more on both of those things later.

I will warn you that this section of the trip will be the most heavily influenced by our meals, so if food and food tours are not your thing, please skip ahead.

When we first arrived in Modena, we went straight to our lunch reservation at Hosteria Giusti. The front is a salumeria that has been there for hundreds of years, but if you are lucky enough to get a reservation, they bring you through the back to a room with 4 tables, of which there is only one seating per day. Again, if you watched Master of None, this is where Dev goes for his solo birthday lunch.





This is a bottle of Lambrusco, which is a sparkling red wine made only in the Emilia-Romagna region.



This was hands down one of the best things I ate on the entire trip. It was a gnocco fritto, which is essentially a steaming hot puff pastry with various fresh salumi on top. The heat from the gnocco fritto melts the fat from the salumi, and it’s truly amazing.



Our main dishes were equally delicious: traditional tortellini and a tagliatelle with braised pork jowel, and for dessert a panna cotta with balsamic glaze:







The next morning, we went to a farm where traditional parmigiano Reggiano is made every single day of the year, and were given a tour of the entire process. One tip: if you’re interested in doing this, do not pay for a tour at a private farm. The country’s agricultural tourism body is very passionate about educating people on the food culture in Italy, and if you go through them they will meet you at a consortium and give you an entire tour for free. Seriously, it was over 2 hours long and they would not accept our money.

This is the owner and head cheese maker separating the whey from the curds:



Each of these tanks will produce only 2 wheels of cheese per day. All copper on the interior:



The cheese is taken from the tanks and formed in a mold, then stamped with a barcode for tracking. The edge of the mold has official designs and logos that are impressed onto the cheese as well.







After being submerged in a salt water bath for a month or so, they’re taken into storage to age. This particular farm was considered medium-sized and had approximately 30,000 wheels aging in the warehouse. It’s truly hard to capture how impressive the room was.







Later that day, we went to a Lambrusco vineyard for a tour and tasting:





Coming Soon: Modena Part 2, Osteria Francescana