The Sublime Union of Balsamic Vinegar and Onions: Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP Meets the Cipolla Bianca di Margherita IGP

Two excellences, emblems of the regions of Emilia Romagna and Puglia, come together in a sublime union of taste: the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP meets the Cipolla Bianca di Margherita IGP.

Puglia’s white onion – Cipolla Bianca di Margherita – is one of Italy’s preferred onions. It is known for its clear white color, succulent flesh, crispness and sweet flavour. It is often used to make delicious jams and marmalades, to be enjoyed on toasted bread or cheeses, but also as an accompaniment to shellfish and boiled meat.

L’Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP can only be produced in the Province of Modena and is made of an extraction of grape must. It is often used in salads, on vegetables, in risottos, on fish, eggs and meat, as well as paired with cheeses

Bringing Together the Succulent Flavors of Two Great Products at Fico Eataly World

Indeed, the two prized Italian IGPs met in Bologna, at Fico Eataly World, with a food education and a duo cooking show starring Salvatore Riontino, executive chef of Canneto Beach 2 in Margherita di Savoia, and chef Stefano Corghi, president of Consorzio Modena a Tavola.   The tasting session exalted the characteristics of the Cipolla Bianca di Margherita IGP in the unusual pairing with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP.  

“The meeting between our Cipolla Bianca and Aceto Balsamico di Modena, both belonging to the Italian IGP family, represents an opportunity for collaboration and solidarity between two regions that have made agribusiness a leading sector of economic and social development. Our products are our history because they tell the story of how we used to be.

Still, they are also our future if we know, together, how to enhance them by combining tradition and innovation,” comments Giuseppe Castiglione, President of the Consortium for the Protection and Valorization of the Cipolla Bianca di Margherita IGP. “The two Consortia have combined human resources, materials, and ways of working to create an event that responds to the protection and dissemination of knowledge about the products, their history, and the reasons that make them certified excellences. The beginning of a synergy that we hope will last well into the future.”

“I agree with the words of President Giuseppe Castiglione,” says Mariangela Grosoli, President of the Consortium for the Protection of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP. “With this event today we unite Italy from North to South and show how creating synergy between products can be a driving force for the enhancement of both.Both the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP and the Cipolla Bianca di Margherita IGP are ideal products for use in the kitchen, even in purity, but creating a union between them means uniting our worlds to make known the knowledge and industriousness behind PDO and IGP products, an authentic flywheel of the economy of Made in Italy.”

The appointment at Fico Eataly World was also an opportunity for the Cipolla Bianca di Margherita IGP to present the activities of its Consortium for Valorization and Protection.

Cipolla Bianca di Margherita IGP is produced not in the ground, as is usual, but in the sands of the Adriatic Sea, south of the Gargano, in an area of high environmental interest, protected by an international convention (Ramsar 1979), in the territories between Margherita di Savoia (Bat), Zapponeta (Fg) and Manfredonia (Fg). Twenty small producer companies, two production cooperatives, and four packaging companies participate in the consortium, which was recognized in 2016.

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP

Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP is produced exclusively-as provided for in the specifications-in the area between the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia with grape musts-partially fermented, cooked, or concentrated from the vines of Lambrusco, Sangiovese, Trebbiano, Albana, Ancellotta, Fortana and Montuni, to which wine vinegar is added in the minimum amount of 10% and a part of vinegar at least 10 years old.

After 60 days of aging in wooden vats, it may undergo a further period of aging, which, if it exceeds three years, will allow the vinegar obtained to bear the classification “aged.” With more than 92 percent of total production exported to 130 different countries around the world, it ranks in the top five of Italian PDO and IGP food specialties and in the first place as an ambassador of Made in Italy agri-food products.

In 2021, the sector reached its historical record, with certified production exceeding 100 million liters and more than 1 billion euros in consumption; figures that in 2022 stood at – 5% due to global economic repercussions. To the world of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena belong 95 wineries, 47 concentrators, 79 vinegar factories, and 174 packers. Employees in the sector number more than 1,000.

Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP

Cipolla Bianca di Margherita IGP

The Sublime Union of Balsamic Vinegar and Onions: Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP Meets the Cipolla Bianca di Margherita IGP

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