Once upon a time, food was produced by artisans, touched by human hands, made in small batches, displaying the qualities of its geography and climate and the ultimate skill of its maker. Keeping this tradition alive in a world of mass-produced and fast-produced food is not easy, but Lynne Rossetto Kasper is trying.

Parmigiano reggiano cheese drizzled with balsamic vinegar. The two ingredients made in Italy can take years to produce. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

As host of Public Radio International’s "The Splendid Table With Lynne Rossetto Kasper," author of two cookbooks on the food of Italy and a highly respected consultant to the food industry, Kasper is an evangelist, spreading the word about fine crafted foods, how they are made and how to enjoy them.

As host and producer of "Splendid Table," Kasper takes the listener on food journeys that burst with flavor. Guests can be a physicist who can explain foam in cappuccino, a neurologist whose specialty is food scents and sex or an actress who’s in a tent at the South Pole.

"It’s theater of the mind," said Kasper, arguing that radio actually works better than television for presenting a sensory experience like eating. "Radio is much freer than television. TV is limiting because of its pragmatic problems, budget restrictions. We can take you anywhere in the world - geographically and intellectually. When it comes to the pure experience of eating, words and imagination takes us far beyond the pictures."

Italy, she says, is a fine example of a place where food is still created with care. And parmigiano reggiano and balsamico are her favorite examples of this; they’ll be the subject of tastings she’ll conduct in conjunction with Hawai‘i Public Radio’s Wine Classic Auction and Tasting here.

These sessions, to be held March 3 and 4, include history, travel and food in a slide and lecture format, followed by tastings. They were developed for presentation at the Smithsonian Institute, Boston University, Rhode Island School of Design, New York Culinary Historians and others.

"What I love about Italy is that when you have foods that are still made by the hands of people," she said. "There are no two wheels of parmigiano reggiano that are alike, no two bottles of balsamico that are alike. The idea that between microclimates and what an artisan brings to food gives it its character, identity and shape - it’s like having the greatest jewels set on a pillow in front of you."

‘Real Parmesan’

‘Pinot in Paradise’ KHPR Wine Classic Auction and Tasting Guests: David Hirsch and Chris Whitcraft of Hirsch Vineyard; Lynne Rossetto Kasper of Public Radio International’s “The Splendid Table” 10:30 a.m. registration; events 11 a.m.-5 p.m. March 4 Signature Pinot Noir Tasting, Grand Tasting and Silent Auction, noon-3 p.m. (included in general cost of admission) Live Auction, 3-5 p.m. (included in general cost of admission) Hirsch Vineyard tasting, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., $50 1998 Pinot Noir tasting, 1:30- 3 p.m., $50 Hilton Hawaiian Village Tickets: $55 for HPR members, $65 general admission; special “Wine and Cheese” tickets (includes wine auction and parmigiano reggiano tasting), $75 and $85; phone 955-8821 or mail check to Hawai‘i Public Radio, 738 Kaheka St., Honolulu, HI 96814. Lynne Rossetto Kasper tastings 10:30 a.m. March 3, “A Connoisseurs Guide to the True Balsamico.” A tasting of two different ages of balsamico tradizionale and two examples of commercially made vinegar and how to use each product; Baci at Restaurant Row. Connoisseurs Guide to the True Balsamico.” A tasting of two different ages of balsamico tradizionale and two examples of commercially made vinegar and how to use each product; Baci at Restaurant Row. 11 a.m. March 4, “A Connoisseur’s Guide to the King of Cheeses: Parmigiano Reggiano,” a tasting of three or four examples of the classic cheese from different seasons. $30 per person, ‘Iolani Suite, Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel. Cost: $30 per person or $50 for both sessions.

Parmigiano reggiano, the real Parmesan cheese, comes from Italy, specifically the Emilia region and a small part of the Lombardy region’s Mantua province. It is a skim milk cheese formed into 80-pound wheels that are aged 18 months to three years, according to Kasper in her book "The Splendid Table," (William Morrow & Co. $35).

"There is only one parmigiano reggiano from a legally designated zone in a particular microclimate," Kasper said. "It’s a protected product, a food of tradition made in a traditional way. Everything else is Parmesan-like and misnamed; its a different cheese."

The cheese dates back seven centuries and is a way of life for the casaro, or master cheesemaker, who must apprentice 10 to 14 years before taking on the task of making cheese daily until he or she retires. Guided by instinct, the casaro’s skills balance the acidity, fat and protein of each batch of milk. The result is that no two batches of cheese are exactly alike.

"We live in a world that’s homogenized; the more we see of mergers, it’s a death knell to food products. Parmigiano reggiano tells you a story of where it has been produced, the cows, the climate, the geography. The flavor subtly changes from season to season: It’s a paragon of excellence from very good to knocking your socks off. I treasure that there is variety."

Balsamic vinegar

Balsamico, or balsamic vinegar, is another artisanal product dear to Kasper’s heart. "Balsamico is made in an area even tinier than parmigiano reggiano - just one and a half provinces compared to the cheese’s five," Kasper said. "Only people in the area knew of it; it was a gift that nobility would send to comrades and political allies. It was such a secret product that it was never sold. Every family had its own little bottle made by a local glass blower that identified them."

According to "The Splendid Table," balsamic vinegar is made in Modena and Reggio provinces from the Trebbiano grape. The freshly pressed juice or "must" is simmered to a sweet concentrate and after it is cooled, the liquid is put in wooden barrels to ferment.

Each year the vinegar is decanted to a successively smaller barrel where enzymes work to develop the vinegar’s aroma, taste and color. A vinegar bearing the seal and words Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena must be made by the traditional method in Modena province and have been aged for a minimum of 12 years. But to receive the seal, each vinegar must pass an evaluation and tasting by the consortium of producers.

The result is a vinegar - actually referred to as a condiment - whose flavor is "sweet, tart, layered with woods and caramel undertones." It is so subtly flavored that it can be served as an aperitif or a digestif (after-dinner drink meant to "settle the stomach") in tiny portions.

In the mid- to late-1980s, balsamic vinegar became trendy in the United States. "A modest version of the real stuff went onto the market almost as self defense," Kasper said. "The legal stuff has no wine vinegar in it. The commercial stuff we buy is a mix of young balsamic vinegar and wine vinegar. Use it in marinades, salads, sauces. When you get the real stuff, the precious stuff, you sip it like a liqueur or drizzle it over food like ice cream."

Like parmigiano reggiano, balsamico is pure artisanship. "It’s made by families, not factories. Each row of barrels makes a different vinegar.

"A young person leaving home to be married always took balsamico as part of their dowry. A bottle from the vinegar attic is always the gift of honor for special occasions. It is always said that mothers and fathers make balsamico for their son or daughter; it takes a generation to make it. It can be aged over 100 years; there’s nothing quite like it anywhere in the world.

Kasper notes that new laws, especially with the advent of the European Union, are defining products like balsamico by industrial standards that exclude the way small producers make their products. "Producers of these artisanal products have to fight for their lives; they are passionate people who care deeply about their products."

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