‘Shaken. Not stirred’. That’s what James Bond used to say
when ordering his Martini. He was given a choice by the barman. Unfortunately
this doesn’t go for all food products we want.
You must have heard of the recent earthquakes in Italy. Two
years ago the city of L’aquila was hit by quite a heavy one. Last weeks’ it was
Bologna shaking. Bologna is mainly famous for its pasta sauce and its arcades
covering the whole city. But you should not forget that it is in the heart of
one of Italy’s culinary districts.
Nature is able to destroy a lot. We have seen that after the
2004 earthquake which was followed by a tsunami killing over 200.000 people,
destroying many houses and economies. Floods in the South happen often and also
the yearly tornado seasons in the USA damages a lot.
Often the news after such a disaster tells us about the
amount of people killed or injured and the damages it did to buildings and
infrastructure. Not many times we realize what other effects it has.
Bologna is not far from cities like Parma and Modena. Cities
which might not sound familiar until you hear the products it brings forward:
Parmesan Cheese and Balsamico Vinegar. Products which need ageing before they
get their specific flavors. You might understand now where I want to go.
During the earthquakes in the second half of May many vinegar barrels and cheeses have been damaged. The damage doesn’t become clear immediately
because the products are all hidden in dark cellars. Because the vinegar and
cheese take from 12 months to 12 years to get ready for sales, we will only
notice the effects later on. Prices could go extremely up when the products get
scarce or they go down when the quality isn’t as good as we could expect from it.
These producers create products which could only be made in a specific region. Balsamico Vinegar is made from a special grape only growing in Italy. Parmesan cheese can only be made in and around Parma. These farmers make unique products which are appreciated all over the world but they still need to fight hard against all factory made vinegars and cheeses.
The producers haven’t only lost a ‘harvest’. They also lost
many of their tools and their inventory. I suggest we should support those
farmers/producers and help then to set up their business again. So buy the
vinegar and the cheeses - no matter what price it is – and enjoy what’s left.
