Food Guide to Northern Italy – What Jessica Baked Next

Hey everyone! I’m finally back with another blog post! I was lucky enough to spend a few days in Italy during the week. I’ve put together a post all about my trip to Bologna, which covers various fun adventures along the way, including a visit to beautiful Venice. It was nice to take a break and indulge in copious amounts of gelato and pizza! I hope you enjoy looking through some of my favourite snapshots from the holiday!

One of my favourite pictures from Venice. When we first turned up the weather was looking a little dismal, but it soon improved and the sun came out. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to go on a gondola, but I still enjoyed spending my time shopping for souvenirs to remember my trip. I felt I saw just as much walking around and discovering the sights on foot and also I worked off the pizza I’d devoured at lunch. 😉

My first ice cream of the trip! We’d just arrived in Bologna and started a walking tour of the city. After a slice of pizza, we headed straight for gelato. The flavour I went for was Gianduia – which is chocolate ice cream with hazelnut paste and chunks of hazelnut in each scoop. And as you can probably guess, it was pretty delicious!

Proscuitto e funghi pizza is what my friends and I bought from a takeaway and then wandered up to a nearby park to eat it. Whenever I travel anywhere, whether it’s with my family or friends I love walking off the beaten track away from the tourist hotspots, if you do this you are more likely to discover new and exciting hidden attractions. The park was lovely and happened to be one of Bologna’s oldest parks.

Parco della Montagnola – one of the oldest parks in Bologna

On the second day of our trip we went on a factory tour to the Parmigiano Reggiano Dairies. It was interesting to see how Parmesan is made and also taste the different ages. This picture shows a miniscule amount of the Parmesan during its ageing process. If you love cheese, then if you’re ever near the region, I would highly recommend a visit!

Later that day after visiting the Parmesan factory we drove to Modena to visit a balsamic factory. Part of the tour was a tasting of different aged balsamic vinegars. I think I managed about one small spoonful of vinegar before having to decline the next. Normally I would mix the balsamic vinegar with extra virgin olive oil so tasting it neat was quite an experience! I purchased a bottle of an 8-year-old balsamotto from Acetaia Paltrinieri. I’m looking forward to trying the balsamic with oil and some of my mum’s homemade Italian bread.

Our final visit later that day was to a prosciutto factory in Parma. It was brilliant to see the prosciutto being prepared for curing and also then getting the chance to taste test the meat. I’m a big fan of prosciutto crudo and I love serving it on antipasto platters with cheese and olives. It makes a tasty starter before a meal.

Pumpkin tortelloni pictured above and fresh strawberries at the Mercato delle Erba in Bologna. The market was great to have a browse around and there was lots of fresh produce available. I cannot wait for the summer here in England so I can enjoy strawberries when they’re finally back in season!

The gelato is just one reason why I love Italy so much. There are gelaterias on most streets in Bologna, I would recommend the gelato from Gelateria Caffetteria Saverio, which was the place we headed for our gelato. We had brilliant service and the staff were very welcoming and friendly towards us. We enjoyed the ice cream, so much so, we ventured back on our last evening and then the next morning before our flight just to eat even more gelato from this place!