My digital diary about Modena

by Stefania Fregni

Welcome to my blog about my beautiful city :) Follow the diary, I'll bring you ti discover Modena.

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When Nocino becomes a cocktail thanks to the Nocino Cocktail Experience of Toschi

Collaborations, Food & Drink - Stefania Fregni - December 15, 2022

Nocino Cocktail Experience Toschi

What if I told you that Nocino can become a special ingredient for creating excellent cocktails ready to be poured and enjoyed in company?
If you think that our beloved Nocino is just “after dinner” stuff, this article will turn your ideas upside down.

Ready to change your way of seeing this traditional liqueur?

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Toschi Vignola: not only cherries

Collaborations, Stories of Modena - Stefania Fregni - December 15, 2022

toschi vignola specchio vintage

If I say “Toschi” what comes to your mind?
If you are from Modena like me it is very probable that the first image you associate with the name “Toschi” is a red and tasty cherry, isn’t t?
Right but not too much!

In the last period I had the opportunity to to know this reality thanks to a visit to their factories and I discovered that in addition to the excellent cherries there is more, much more.

I’ll tell you everything immediately 😊

Before starting, however, let me give you a little introduction.

I have always heard of the Toschi company but it was only when I started writing my guide about Modena that I deepened my research by documenting myself in detail.

And it was precisely then that I discovered that behind this brand with a long tradition there is literally a “world of taste”.

Yes, because cherries in alcohol were just the beginning of this long story!

Toschi Vignola: where the tradition of fruit preserved in alcohol and in syrup was born

We are in Vignola, in the heart of the land of cherries, about 25 km from Modena. Important historical characters were born here, such as Jacopo Barozzi, known as Vignola, and Ludovico Antonio Muratori, and the beautiful medieval fortress is always on display in this beautiful town.

If you come to these parts in spring it is impossible not to be enchanted by the spectacle of the cherry blossoms.

In these lands, infact, cherries, fruits of the Italian tradition, are born from the work of several hundred producers united in the Consortium of Typical Vignola Cherries.

ciliegie spiritose toschiThus in 1945, the year the company was founded, the famous Ciliegia di Vignola became “Spiritosa” thanks to the idea of ​​Giancarlo and Lanfranco Toschi to preserve and package this fruit to be enjoyed all year round.

In the presence of a particularly abundant year, the two brothers had a brilliant intuition: to start producing industrially what until then had always been a family tradition.

Thus Toschi was born with the first product of a long series known today everywhere with the name of fruit in alcohol.

A beautiful story isn’t it?
And the company is still pervaded by it!

This can be perceived by the fascinating vintage prints hanging on the walls, by the old machinery scattered throughout the factory and by the unique examples of gift boxes, miniature Ferraris of the past, jealously guarded in the offices of the founders.

toschi vignola imbottigliatrice vintage

But it was around the 1960s that some of today’s other leading products began to be produced, such as: syrups and black cherry fruit, Cherry brandy (morette liqueur) and Nocino.

I’m quite sure you can know these… right? 👇🏻

toschi frut

Black cherries are sweet fruits with a slightly sour aftertaste, which tickle the palate with their unmistakable and fresh flavour.

Among the most representative products of the Toschi company, today as in the past only the best cherries are carefully selected, pitted and candied to garnish desserts, cakes and frozen desserts or to enrich ice cream!

I guarantee you that watching part of this production process was exciting!
What a desire to eat them all…

toschi amarene processo lavorazione

The Nocino of Modena Toschi

Product of the Modenese tradition, Nocino of Modena Toschi is born from the infusion of Italian walnut hull rigorously harvested on June 24, as tradition dictates, when the fruit is not fully ripe and the husk is still green and tender.

The original recipe for Nocino of Modena is made up of just 5 simple ingredients: husk, alcohol, sugar, cinnamon and cloves.

After a 9-month infusion together with the spices, the husks are pressed to extract their essence. A portion of sugar and water is then added to this infusion to obtain the alcohol content and the characteristic roundness of taste.

Produced without dyes and aged for at least 2 years, Toschi Nocino di Modena follows and complies with the production regulations of the “Tradizione e Sapori di Modena” brand, which I had already told you about in the article I dedicated to Modena’s excellence.

During my visit to the plant they were actually bottling this product and seeing the production of such an excellence always has a certain charm!

Toschi produces 2 versions of Nocino: the Classico and the Riserva, aged over 5 years.

Finding yourself face to face with these wooden giants who guard this precious nectar must be immortalized because it is not an every day experience! 😉

nocino riserva toschi

Toschi Balsamic Vinegar

And if we talk about excellence and traditions, the Balsamic Vinegar of Modena IGP and Traditional DOP certainly cannot be missing!

aceto balsamico IGP Toschi

Gino Toschi IGP Balsamic Vinegars of Modena are the result of skilfull processing in compliance with the production regulations with the know-how of a historic vinegar factory made up of small secrets and ancient gestures.

A slight variation in the percentage of cooked must or in the length of aging creates more or less dense vinegars with different nuances of taste.

 

Every time I find myself strolling through the rooms of the Balsamic Vinegar aging barrels I am inebriated by the scents and fascinated by the batteries, especially those of the DOP, witnesses of a unique tradition in the world and of an incredible workmanship that tastes home.

Each reality that produces Balsamic Vinegar offers its own show because it preserves its own stories and memories, handed down from generation to generation.

Do you know that tradition has it that when a new born arrives in the family, a battery of barrels is started in his honor with his name?

And it is only after 12 years of unconditional love and dedication that Traditional Balsamic Vinegar is obtained, while you have to wait 25 to extract the Extra Vecchio.


So after this pleasant visit to Toschi, I was able to see first-hand how long and rich the road traveled by this company since 1945 has been.

The products offered today are varied: ranging from the classic ones, which include fruit in alcohol, fruit liqueurs and syrups, to those designed for ice cream, sour cherries and various garnishes, up to Nocino and Balsamic Vinegar .

A world of taste as I told you, rightly so, at the beginning of this story 😊
A world to discover and savor specialty after specialty.

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A day at the river park of Marano

Modena with children, Nature & Leisure, Outdoor trips in Modena - Stefania Fregni - September 1, 2019

Well you know, the good weather leads us to spend time outdoors, especially in the summer, when we often look for places where to relax and to find coolness. From this point of view, Modena offers several opportunities! One of these (and not too far from the center) is the river park of Marano, a place that I have often frequented when I was a teenager and where I’ve recently come back. I’ll tell you something more.

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A dive into the gastronomic tradition of our territory with Bottega Portici, the new Emilian casual food format

Collaborations, My Travels in Emilia - Stefania Fregni - July 30, 2018

Fresh pasta is a precious good, a tradition deeply rooted in our territory. It represents an art, the one of know-how but above all the one of the good life that characterizes our Emilia.
So, when projects that celebrate and export this way of being born, I am sincerely happy to support them. Recently I was guest at Bottega Portici, a new format of casual food that originates in Emilia-Romagna, that proposes quality and traditional food at the right price. Here, I tell you better what it is and I how was my experience.

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5 shades of Modena: a tour of Modena to discover 5 different experiences

Collaborations, My personal lists, Suggested Tours - Stefania Fregni - January 23, 2018

Have you ever wondered what character has your city?  Do you think it is possible to identify its different distinctive features? I think it is.
I’ve always thought that cities, like humans, had a different character that could be captured in certain places and doing certain experiences.
So, in order to organize a tour of Modena made of 5 stops, I’ve tried to think about my city as a real person, whose character is composed of different personalities. Then, I tell you of 5 shades of Modena, 5 experiences that I had having a tour on my territory accompanied by the new T-Roc, in collaboration with Volkswagen MPS Car Modena. 

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Discovering Stanguellini Museum, the oldest Modenese name active in the car field

Tourist attractions and museums - Stefania Fregni - October 18, 2016

Sometimes it happens to discover places of my city I don’t know, or rather, that I’ve only heard but I’ve never visited. So when I find one, I am so happy to talk about it and share my experience that would stay hours writing about it. This happens recently with Stanguellini Museum, the museum dedicated to the oldest Modenese name active in the car field.

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Modena street food: the crescentina (tigella) by Or-ma

Food & Drink, Stories of Modena - Stefania Fregni - February 1, 2016

I believe that who thinks that street food is a practice that comes from far away is making a mistake.
If we think about Italian food we can realize how many traditional foods have become perfect street foods over time.
As far as Modena food traditions are concerned, have you ever thought that crescentina (well known as tigella) is one of the first street foods diffused in Modena and then exported all over the world? 😉

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Luciano Pavarotti’s home museum: visiting Big Luciano’s home, the great Maestro of Modena

Not to be missed, Tourist attractions and museums - Stefania Fregni - January 16, 2016

I discovered the existence of Luciano Pavarotti’s home museum almost by chance. I was curious and I decided to visit it.

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Waiting for Christmas: 3 shops in Modena center perfect for buying some presents

My personal lists, Shopping - Stefania Fregni - December 13, 2015

Christmas is coming and as it happens every year we faced the great dilemma regarding the presents choice. A classic story.
Someone is more provident and begins earlier, someone like me is inspired from the things that see inside the shop windows.
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Market stories in Modena: a delicatessen stall with more than 30 years of tradition

Food & Drink, Stories of Modena - Stefania Fregni - November 28, 2015

[Today the Gastronomia Manzini is no longer located at the Albinelli Market but has changed location. For me, however, it remains a historic market stall, which is why I decided to keep this article on the blog]

There are many stalls of Albinelli Market in Modena that deserve to listen to their own the story, probably all. When I walk around the market, in addition to colors and smells, I try to breathe the stories of people who every morning wake up at dawn to go to work. I make myself thousand questions, I try to imagine how many beautiful things they could tell me. And so it did Massimo Manzini, owner since 1984 of Manzini Brothers delicatessen stall. There are so many market stories in Modena….

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A day at the Albinelli Market, the historical market of Modena

Food & Drink, Not to be missed, Shopping - Stefania Fregni - November 28, 2015

The Albinelli Market is absolutely one of the visits to do if you decide to come to Modena. It is one of my favorite places in the city that I try to visit as often as possible. Usually I go there on Saturday morning, when I have more time, both for shopping and for enjoying the magic atmosphere that you can breathe inside. This market is “the place” of tradition, where the Modenese values ​​of culture and gastronomy find their highest expression.

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Trattoria Barchetta: simplicity and familiarity, a place where I feel at home

Bar and restaurants - Stefania Fregni - November 21, 2015

I attend the Trattoria Barchetta in Campogalliano, Modena, for over 10 years, I suppose. It’s one of the restaurant I choose to give me a special lunch.
I usually spend in Campogalliano a few days of my week for work and I have learned to discover its more interesting places.
Campogalliano is a town in the province of Modena, located west of the city. I will probably tell you about this pretty town in the future but now I want to talk you about “Barchetta”, a restaurant (“trattoria”, in Italian) of the many suggestions.

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My Modena Diary, the adventure begins!

Stories of Modena - Stefania Fregni - November 5, 2015

This is the story of an idea that I had in recent months.
It comes instinctively, like all those things that one feels to do, perhaps because they seems natural or because you already feel them yours.
In this way I have matured the desire to talk about Modena. The city where I live, where I was born and grown up.

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Vintage in Piazza Grande

Shopping, Stories of Modena - Stefania Fregni - October 25, 2015

deeply and unconditionally love vintage, I admit it.
Not only just vintage, but also everything old, old-fashioned, shabby chic etc. I think that this attraction comes from the intrinsic charm simply contained in these words. As if just pronouncing them, you are immediately thrown into a different time dimension, in a fantastic world in which every object is able to tell a unique story, full of emotions.

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VUOI GIOCARE MODENESE?

Sono co-autrice di 3 divertentissimi giochi da tavola! A Tal Dég, il "monopoly" di Modena, 
 Modena Quiz, il quizzone su Modena e provincia e Bagài "al zógh ch’al ciacára in mudnés " con le illustrazioni bellissime del mitico fumettista Clod