Food and Ferrari in Bologna
Drive Fast. Drive Ferrari. Eat lots of Food! This sums up the Food and Ferrari tour!
Logistics
During our initial Bologna research, we stumbled upon this amazing tour where we could go eat Parma ham, fresh parmesan, taste fresh balsamic vinegar, eat loads of food, and visit Ferrari! On Tripadvisor, there are many, many tours that do some variation of this, but we wanted one that limited it to 10 or so people. Plus, our tour had to end early so we could make our 7pm reservations!
First Stop: Parmesan
Surprisingly, during all our Italian travels, we have yet to visit a cheese factory!
History of Cheese
In our quick fun fact history tour, our guide informed us that cheese started over eight centuries ago by Italian monks. Obviously, since everything good starts in Italy! More importantly, Italy is the king of cheese (supposedly!) with over 400 types of cheese. Today, we would be visiting and sampling the king of Italian cheese - Parmesan!
However, the king of cheeses had a serious problem in 2015 after a giant earthquake in Modena. It leveled buildings and wrecked the parmesan storage warehouses. In the Poggioli factory, it required a 7m investment afterwards to rebuild the infrastructure! While it seems like a lot of money to put into a warehouse, Poggioli holds over $200 million of cheese which serves as their collateral.
The Process
For our visit to the King of Cheese, we would arrive just in time to view the whole process! We were also able to wear our new swag. Each cow is milked everyday at 4am and 4pm, like clockwork. From the fields, it is shipped into the factories so we were able to witness the final stages of the previous day’s 4pm shipment as it takes about 12 hours to reach the factory.
Inside the steel vats, the milk is poured and heated for about an hour. For our favorite part, the workers then lift and send the bulk of cheese into the storing room. In order to life the cheese, they have to use a fancy tool and brute strength since it weighs over 50 pounds. This was one of the coolest parts as we watched them pull all 10+ cheese wheels.
From their birth in the water, the cheese curds are molded with metal rings. These metal rings are very important as it describes the owner, dates, and a fancy inscription. Once it is ready, the mold is put into salt and water for either 24 or 36 months - at this factory. For the general parmesan, this will be much shorter as they try to sell it! The aging process allows the cheese to absorb the salt so the 36 month should have much more cheese.
King of Cheese
By far, our favorite room was the cheese room. Andrea told us it holds over $20 million worth of parmesan cheese! Wow!! To go through the rows of cheese was simply heaven! Plus, it made for great pictures! We were very excited!
Within this warehouse, there are three “types” of cheese. First, obviously the best, is the gold standard and it receives the stamp of approval. Second, it is the simply just acceptable. Lastly, they sell a “poor” version and it is sold to stores like Publix and Tesco in their little parmesan cheese bags!
Cheese for Breakfast
Rather than a normal tasting, we had cheese for breakfast! Both the factory and the guide provided 24m and 36m cheese among an assortment of bread and meats. It was quite tasty! Somehow, our group was the only one that truly drived into the cheese! We could really taste the salt in the aged cheese and the stark difference between the 36m and 24m. We preferred the 36m!!
For future reference, the vacuum seal allows us to store the cheese for 3-4m in the fridge. We could have even left it outside the fridge! In the end, we thankfully had the cash to buy 1 24m and 1 36m.
The Meat Sweats
Our next stop was to a family run butchery and ham store, Salumi Leonardi & Ciardullo. Located on a rural road, this meat store is very big and famous! Even legendary Michelin star chef Massimo visits and buys for his restaurant!
To begin, the meat is brought into the downstairs warehouse and heavily salted. We walked by the initial stages and were overwhelmed with salt and fresh legs. Very strange! Once salted, the meat is stored for 3 months.
Afterwards, it is then washed and hung for 70 days. The next stage is adding cream and storing it for another 4 months. Lastly, you add the more cream for 14 months. This “cream” can be different mixes of peppers and mixes.
Within these hallow walls, the warehouse holds $15 million of meat. In this tiny village. In the middle of nowhere! Who knew!! The upstairs store sells loads of meats, jams, and everything else Italian! We ended up buying fresh berry jam and normal prosucctio.
Meat Tasting
For our favorite part of the meat tour, we finally had a tasting. First, Andrea showed us how to judge a good leg of meat. We were quite amused! In our tasting, we had four types:
- Normal Proscuttio
- Salami with truffle
- More meat sweats
- Cut of meat that begins with a M...
Our favorite was the normal proscuttio. The other ones had too much fat and we didn’t enjoy them quite as much! Still, similar to the parmesan factory, we were the only ones enjoying second or third servings!
During the tasting, Andrea discovered we are going to the Osteria Franchessta. Safe to say, he was first extremely excited for us followed by immense jealousy. Not only did he say congratulations many times, he was also very impressed that I was so well organized!
Liquid Gold
In Italy, only food could be considered a liquid gold. For our most interesting visit, we visited a fourth generation balsamic vinegar winery. Or distillery. Not sure what the proper title is!!
Balsamic Process
Overall, the balsamic process is very interesting. Because it is a family owned and operated business, the process holds many traditions. For example, each family member receives 5-6 barrels when they are born. This enables the kid to have as much balsamic vinegar once they are 15 years old and older!
After the wine harvest, the barrels are filled with cooked wine. For 12 years, the barrels are refilled with cooked wine in order to aid the balsamic process. After 12 years, they begin the unique process!
Once the wine begins to evaporate in the barrels, they will extract two liters from the biggest barrel, then put it into the smaller barrels. They will continue to do this for the barrel’s lifetime as the barrel can often outlast their owner!
Acid Tasting
For our tasting, we were able to try balsamic vinegar on various foods, even on its own! We tried both the 15 year old and the 30 year old on its own and preferred the 30 year old. For us, the 15yo was acidic, but still much better than store brands. In the 30yo, it was definitely more sweet and oaky.
Lastly, we tried it on parmesan cheese and quite enjoyed the combination between the acidity and savory! For the strangest tasting of the day, we tried balsamic vinegar on vanilla ice cream. In our group, we bravely tried the ice cream and found it… interesting… The sweet and acidic combination was strange, but somewhat good.
In the end, we purchased a 30yo balsamic vinegar. We felt very proud and I think it is the most fresh item we purchased!
Fast and Furious
From family meat traditions to sleek fast cars, we made a fast adjustment as we went to Marenello, home of Ferrari! Once we arrived in the small village, we took a quick outside tour of the factory. It was fascinating… Not really! Still, it was really cool to snag some great pictures!
Pit Lane
Of course, Andrea brought us to a shop that offered 15 minute increments to drive your car of choice! Part of me wondered if he got any kickbacks, but I was too excited! During the meat tour, I received permission to drive a car! However, I had no idea which car to pick!! Thus, I called Nick and listed the cars for him and he told me that the Ferrari 488 Spider was his choice!
Once I paid and signed a very big insurance policy, I had to wait in the Ferrari Museum next door. For car ethusanists, such as Nick, he was very jealous! For this group of non-car ethusanists, it was just another museum but with fancy cars! I had no idea that they had so many nice cars all in one place! I figured this would have been a simple history of Ferrari shop, but similar to the brand, they did not hold back!
Because MF worked with Mercedes Benz, she found the formula 1 section interesting. The room held all 7 formula 1 winners and had a display of we are the best! However, MF liked to contradict that point since Mercedes Benz has been winning.
Let the Engine Roar
Finally, I was ready to drive in the big show. Because Maranello has a few laws about Ferrari’s burning rubber during the day, we had to go outside the village for my experience. While I was incredibly nervous, I was extremely excited!!
Once I sat in the car, I instantly knew I was going to throughly enjoy my experience! The seats are very comfortable and the interior oozes class and the high society. For a car that really should be on a racetrack, I am so glad it can be on the road!
As I burned rubber through the small countryside roads, it was incredibly fun!!! The guide would instruct me on possible turns and flat stretches where I could really test the power. Easily, I flew to over 120mph on a small countryside road where I was passing Fiats and horses. As I put the petal to the metal, the engine roared to life and I always felt very in control. This was exhilarating!
However, certain parts of the ride were white knuckle experiences. As I mentioned, these were SMALL Italian roads, so it is similar to your rural english roads, only with very expensive car (that isn’t yours!). On every turn or when lorries were passing me in the other lane, my knuckles would turn white and I would brace for impact! However, my fear would subside as soon as I throttled the engine to well over 100!
Zoom Zoom
Would I recommend driving a Ferrari in Italy? Why is that even a question?!
Italian Lunch
Unlike other tours, lunch was not the top act of the day! Since we had eaten breakfast a little late, we had a very late lunch. Not ideal since we had a big dinner reservation later in the evening!
For lunch, we were taken to a beautiful Italian estate with fine views overlooking the valley. Because of the large group, we had outdoor seating and we were going to eat family style! For our appetizer, we had a puffy pastry with Parma ham. For our pasta courses, we had three different types: tortellini with spinach, ricotta cheese, butter, and sage, toreneli with pork and cream sauce with parmesan, and lastly, tageltelli with meat sauce.
Yes, there is more!
For our main course, we had a lovely steak. Yes, it was painful MF and I as we had to limit ourselves! Thankfully, dessert was a little “lighter” but still came in a pair. The white dessert was a lemon sorbet and the pudding was yellow pudding with chocolate. Yummy!
Fat and Happy
MF and I have a fun little question we ask at the end of every big meal - are you fat and happy? After the parmesan cheese, fresh meats, balsamic vinegar, and finally the big meal, yes, we were fat and happy! It made the drive back to Bologna really nice!!
The UnChartered Summary:
- While lesser known than its neighboring “sister” city of Florence, Bologna and its surrounding villages are well worth the visit! From the typical Italian charm to the LOADS of food, we can say it is well worth the visit!
- This tour, Food and Ferrari from AirBnB experiences, is absolutely amazing! Andrea, the guide, is very helpful and informative!
- For those wondering where we went, as a reminder:
- Parmesan cheese: Poggioli
- http://poggiolicoopcasearia.it/our-story/
- Meats: Salumi Leonardi & Ciardullo
- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Salumi-Leonardi-E-Ciardullo/2174343299547627
- Balsamic: Boni
- http://www.acetaiaboni.com/
- Ferrari: Pit Lane, red passion
- https://www.pitlaneredpassion.com/it/
- Restaurant: TOP secret 🙂