unique. i am here to discover why this place is home to the superstars of the nation's food. >> this is made with love and how an obsession of perfection drives its producer. >> will you marry me here? >> people here really know how to wait for the best things in life. >> because they waited. >> 25 years old. >> so good. >> i don't have to. >> so good. >> it is one of the most delicious things on earth. ♪ for a greedy man, this place is the gigantic deli of my dreams. don't fret, i have the metabolism of a teenager. balogna, a wealthy region of straddle italy. it is a lush land of fertileed valley. it is bred with one of the world's best chefs. buckle up. i know you can only see a blur with glasses but that's me in the car tearing around the road of province in the tender care of. a man who likes fast cars, slow food and michelin stars. >> he's got three of them. >> i love this place. he's taking me behind the scenes, about 30 miles outside balogna and playing it cool. >> really? jesus christ. this is where moussimo been coming to get his beloved parmesan the last 25 years. >> this is unique. the only parmesan from the white cow. >> milk is king. the white cows, unique to the valley of the river po that runs through this region. >> bravo, bravo. >> amelia is hungry for a long lasting cheese invented parmesano. thank god for them. >> three, two, one, open! >> oh my god. smell, smell, smell. the smelling is unbelievable. >> oh my god. oh my god. >> no, no. >> mama, mia. >> wow. >> i mean yes. geno is up at 5:00 a.m., pouring the morning milk and massaging the cheeses and running them salt baths that last for 19 days. >> you have to love ingredients and caress them. >> they see these cheeses not as mere products but as precious babies, one happily that you can eat. >> what i am going to do with you, this is the cheese of this morning. it is called -- touch it, it is so good. it is less intense. it is so good. oh my god. >> every morning as demand for milk grew in the 1960s, the white cows -- >> were they almost extinct? >> almost. only a few left. >> how long will you age this? >> 36 months. >> one of mossimo's iconic dishes is five aged cheese. >> in my mind there was this idea of expressing one ingredient of the slowing aging cheese. the ingredient is time. wait, wait. grow slow like >> it gets more and more intense the more you age it. >> more pleasure. >> the people here have perfected the aging process to create iconic products from simple quality ingredients and nothing is wasted. geno will use the liquid from this parmesan making process to produce riccota. >> if you are hungry already, you may want to close your eyes. oh my god. it is so fresh that you can taste the grass and herbs that the cows have eaten. >> it is so good. >> warm, just baked. >> and it makes you feel like you are a child. mama mia. >> i have never had ricotta like that. >> jesus, put that in my car. thank you so much. mossimo is whisking me back to modena. because of the pandemic, his team have gotten used to cooking outside. >> the ricotta is going in there with pizza and we'll aggressive cooking to give it crunchiness on top. >> local woods is piled high in the hot oven and the ricotta is tucked away, roasting just a few minutes while the flat bread is cooked at the oven door. >> then we are going to add the little bit of vinegar, some honey that we do and we produce here and a little bit of fire and that's it. >> you are trained with mossimo, did you speak italian before? >> no, i didn't, i learn in the kitchen. i was learning from the cooks so i was pretty much saying bad words for the first time. >> this is elder flour vinegar? >> look at how crusty and beautiful it is. >> almost ready to taste then? >> oh, the balsamic. oh, come on. >> this is like the crunchy part of the lasagna. it is the exactly the same. >> that everybody fights over. >> yes. it is beautiful. beautiful. oh my god. >> it is so good. >> you can't stop eating this kind of stuff. >> it is almost a dessert, huh? >> the vinegar with the honey, wow. wow. that's delicious. >> you forget that you are making a television show. it is not. it can be bright. quiet. and safe. it's a change that will be felt from this street. to this street. to no street. and everywhere in between. all it takes is the slightest push in just the right place and that will be the tipping point that changes everything. ♪ ♪ with so many nourishing shades, and that will be the tipping poina color change is easy.ng. nutrisse has 77. from our darkest blacks, to our lightest blondes. it nourishes while it colors. plus avocado, olive and shea. change a little, or a lot. nutrisse. nourished hair. better color. by garnier, naturally! ♪ for those who've found themselves without health insurance during these challenging times, sign up now at healthcare.gov. ♪ 3 out of 4 healthcare.gov customers can find a plan with a monthly premium of $50 or less thanks to financial help. these are quality plans that include coverage for doctor visits, preventive services and prescription drugs. sign up at healthcare.gov now through may 15. ♪ are you managing your diabetes... sign up at healthcare.gov now through may 15. ...using fingersticks? 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you're filming in 8k. that's cinema quality. so... you can pull photos straight from video. impressive. but will it last the whole trip? you'll have battery all day. and then more. this is different. told you. ♪ ♪ my blood pressure is borderline. garlique healthy blood pressure formula helps maintain healthy blood pressure with a custom blend of ingredients. i'm taking charge, with garlique. balonga, a poster child for italy. imagine san francisco, the city is known for the fad for its rich food and the wise for its university and the red for its leftest politics. i came to meet with one of the leaders of the sardine movement. it is a rebel alignment. he's an accidental political hero and he loves food. >> ciao. >> nice to meet you. the sardines mobilize when right wing politician campaigned here during regional election and antiimmigration populist party. >> a little donald trump and it was last november and sevini was l launching the campaign. let's organize something different and we found the trick was sardines. so we say you better be sardines. in italy we say we are crowded like sardines so we want all the people to be on the middle of the square and finally the 20 something thousand people came. >> 20,000 people showed up? >> jesus. and the picture of the square crowd was the most famous picture of the day. >> and it created a movement? >> yes, from the south to the far north. since then sevini finally lost the election. >> will you go into politics? >> i don't think so. i dressed like a normal guy and my hair is a disaster. >> i can't help thinking that this dashing italian rivera is too modest. it is lunchtime and he knows the best deli in time so i am saying nothing. >> oh my god. if one goes to heaven is probably it. >> all right, let's go get some. >> we are in on the cold cuts. one can't have too much. this city has been a multi cultural melting pot and this fine ground has some german influenced cooked into it. >> 200 grams. it is a lot but i am sorry. >> spiked with pepper corns and pistachio. it is beautifully be jewelled with white polka-dots of fats from pig's throat. back in the 17th century, it mortedella, outlining the perfect ingredients. >> this dates back to the 15th century. >> really? >> you can buy wine but not food. they play cards and talk about politics. so simple, so good. >> so good. >> that's so good. mortedella also known as balogna sausage. give me the original any day. it is so silky and garlicky and sweet. >> i love it. >> food and politics go hand and hand for matia and the sardines. oh wow. fresh egg pasta made from soft wheat is a great specialty in this region. these nicknamedd venuses belly button. >> food and love combined as volunteers whip them up into little partials of joy. the smell is incredible. >> demand has doubled since the pandemic. communal table would normally eat together and lonely retirees and refugees and the unemployment rubbing shoulders have been replaced for daily take-out for 500 people. >> you are? >> elsah . >> good food is something that makes everything better and it is the key to good health. >> this is the saving grace. especially a cold. meaning, you. you're the one we made mywalgreens for. join and get 30 minute pickup at walgreens.com join and get 30 minute pickup if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you. get 2 unlimited lines for only $70. and now get netflix on us with your plan. and this rate is fixed, you'll pay exactly $70 total. this month and every month. plus, switch today and get a free smartphone for each line. the best value and award-winning customer service. only at t-mobile. someday i'm going to marry you. yes someday i'm going to marry you. someday we'll buy that little place on ellsworth. some days, will be rougher than others. ♪ someday, 50 years will have gone by, and i'll ask you to marry me, all over again. someday. ♪ get zero down special financing with the kay jewelers credit card. oh, you think this is just a community center? special financing with the no. it's way more than that. cause when you hook our community up with the internet... boom! look at ariana, crushing virtual class. jamol, chasing that college dream. michael, doing something crazy. this is the place where we can show the world what we can do. comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers to create wifi-enabled lift zones, so students from low-income families can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. oh we're ready. ♪ ♪ hello. >> ciao, nice to meet you. >> you have such good taste in clothing. >> absolutely. the juicy company makes traditional balsamic vinegar using grapes from outside modena. this is not just any old vinegar, this is black gold. >> is it your family? it is actually my family. >> you are kidding. >> what year is that? >> 1605. >> more than 400 years. >> that's incredible. >> yes, my fellow americans, the juicy family have been making vinegar since 1605, when the may flower pilg pilgrims were still sunday's school. >> both red and white? the nature of the region's grapes led to the happy accident of balsamic vinegar. they turn more easily into vinegar than fine wine. you take something that's not what it should be and turned it into something special. >> super special. okay, let's go look at them. >> we are not heading down to a wine cellar, we are heading up there to the traditional place of aging vinegar so they are exposed to changing temperature. >> this is since 1600? >> the older the better. we eat it old and slowly. a family never throws away their own cask. in each of these cask, there is liquid. >> you find your own balance and handed down for generations. >> that's incredible. >> pepe is the wine vinegar taster. >> it is like a ruby red. >> one thing that's been around. it is ready when the person will get married. >> i love that. >> let's drink, let's taste! >> i have cracked. enough of the history. >> let's try it. i am thirsty for vinegar. >> the flavor is long in your mouth. >> here you taste the king of vinegar of 25 years old. if you get one liter of this, you have to start with 100 kilo of grapes. >> wow. >> look at that. >> whoa, soft and sweet and acidic and everything. i remember when it started to became really popular and people were using it on everything. >> yes. >> on too many things. >> never too many. >> traditional balsamic vinegar is the staggering in romana. how are they effortlessly producing all of these famous delicacies? i am headed to the hill to meet my friend to meet my friend mossimo again and his wife, laurie gilmore who runs the incredible restaurant. >> many gringredients come out from what you have in your backyard. >> the po river is the longest in italy. its floodplain made this region an agriculture power house. the extraordinary food valley lies between the po river in the north and the apennine's mountains to the south. >> we have the apennine's behind us. the cross winds blow all the way down to the valley and it creates this kind of micro climate. >> it is about the fog. oh fog. >> thanks to you. >> the fog and humidity really makes a difference in all this. >> the humidity that comes from the apennine. it creates the perfect micro climate. >> even the region's beloved fresh pasta is explained by this humid climate, which means soft wheat can grow here. a different breed from the heat loving dry in the south. >> if you don't believe in god, you believe tortolini. mossimo is obsessive of the food. >> if you check my blood, there is balsamic vinegar. the winter goes to bad and stays there and relax for six months and spring is coming and it is going to life again and again. slowly and slowly arriving at the point of excellence. >> the food of amelia romana can only be made here because of this incredible of its unique climate and geography, i promise to never complain about fog again. shes while it colors. plus avocado, olive and shea. change a little, or a lot. nutrisse. nourished hair. better color. by garnier, naturally! so you're a small business, or a big one. you were thriving, but then... oh. ah. okay. plan, pivot. how do you bounce back? you don't, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. powered by the largest gig speed network in america. but is it secure? sure it's secure. and even if the power goes down, your connection doesn't. so how do i do this? you don't do this. we do this, together. bounce forward, with comcast business. this is the land of pigs, gore glorious pigs. i have come to the second biggest city of the region where these pigs are used to make something i can never resist at parma, porciutto. >> this is a shrine to piggy's past. their sacrifice was worth it. fittingly for something so heavenly. this ham has its own guardian angel to protect its reputation. i have slipped on this cute outfit to join the ham quality inspector. even my nostrils were salivating. salt is the only preservatives allowed before the ham are aged for at least 14 months. that foggy air around them and doing its magic. they're skewering the ham with one of the tools of their trade, a horse bone, clean and scent less to check for quality. this may seem like the best job in the world but it is deadly serious. dna tests are mandatory to check the pedigree of these pigs because of widespread corruption. result inside the ring leader being jailed and over a million fake hams confiscated. the industry is reastill reelin from the scandal. >> i am meeting an italian journalist who brought the story of the biggest food fraud to the nation's tv screen. >> this is what you see on every ham. >> it is what should be protected. >> tell me everything. >> the firm and the pigs. >> why is it danish pigs? >> first, there are more piglets and the second reason is they produce more meat. so breeders have larger margins of profits. under the strict rules of this protected product, the pigs must be a pure italian blood stuff. >> so they were cheating. >> yes. >> and also compromising those who are still producing according to traditional rules. >> was there one person in particular who blew the whistle? we had a source who approached us with the documents then we started a research. >> how much different breeders were doing this? >> dozens of breeders. >> wow. >> yes . will i, a devoted foodie knows a fake when i taste one with his side by side premium products? >> the pork here in parma is everything. fantastic. >> when we are babies, we grew up with this more than the milk. this is all my life. >> your whole life? >> yes. >> what is this is one? >> this is 26. >> this is amazing. this is my favorite part and it is very fat. we mix the taste of both. it is incredible. here you can taste the fat and the meat. >> more nutty. >> exactly. nikola, will the danish fake be obvious? >> this does not look like prociutto. >> no. it is just dry meat. this is meat for the people who want to go to the gym and grow muscles. a lack of visible fat has been apart of the allure of this danish pig prociutto. >> nothing. >> it is acidy. >> i can't believe that's what they were selling. >> and people buy. this is incredible. >> this is made with love. it is different than the others. it is amazing. >> look at this. >> that's beautiful. >> another planet. >> as soon as it hits your tongue. instantaneous. >> that's the prociutto that we know and love. >> when the scandal happened, you were disgusted by it. you can't let the integrity of this disappear because it is one of the most delicious things on earth. what happens to your body language when your underarms are cared for? ♪ ♪ it shows! our new dove advanced care formula is effective... and kind to skin, leaving underarms cared for and you... more confident and carefree. that's a very good question. will there be an ev for me? 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[ deep inhale ] claritin-d. get more airflow. ♪ hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play ♪ ♪ hey now, you're a rock star, get the show on, get paid ♪ ♪ and all that glitters is gold ♪ get 5 boneless wings for $1 with any handcrafted burger. only at applebee's. i just can't ignore the dish that this famous city gave its name to. everyone is convinced that they know what should be in this recipe so i am heading east to the birthplace of italy's god father to sniff out its roots. rural romana joined with the wealthy city of amelia in the 1940s to create the region. the town is home to forlimpopoli. artusi's book was a sensational hit. rissoto is one of my favorite things in the world. happily barbara invited me to her place to try the first recorded recipe of the famous meat sauce. zp >> welcome to my house, mr. tucci. >> science and the kitchen and the art of eating well is their second bible . >> that's fantastic. >> i have to take my glasses off. >> i think what's interesting about the recipe is so many chefs have so many different versions of this. some people say you can use tomatoes or no, you use milk or nutmeg. it should not be too tomatoes. although my mother made it with tomatoes. >> this recipe is only butter. >> only butter? >> it was expensive. >> in artusi's recipe, the meat. >> everything together? >> i have never done that. maybe that's why mine is not so good. >> it is brown and i added flour and a bit of nutmeg. >> like most cook in the region, there is only one pasta barbara considers using and it ain't spaghetti. >> beautiful. >> the local fresh of emelia-romagna. >> i am ready. >> don't judge me. i had to wait 10 tortress minutes for it to cook. >> oh, it smells incredible. >> oh yes, yes. cheers. >> good? >> very good. >> so good. >> this is what i have been trying to do at home but i have never achieved it. now i know how to do it because of you. >> yes, thank you. will you marry me? oh, your husband is here. forget about it. humana does you one better and sends you an at-home test kit, when it's overdue. huh! one of those tests could save your life, or at least a little hassle. or both. yeah! you get it, you do it, you send it back. i get it, i do it, i send it back. you get it, you do it, you send it back. yeah, i got it. you got it! ♪ ♪ humana. a more human way to healthcare. if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you. get 2 unlimited lines for only $70. and now get netflix on us with your plan. and this rate is fixed, you'll pay exactly $70 total. this month and every month. plus, switch today and get a free smartphone for each line. the best value and award-winning customer service. only at t-mobile. with so many nourishing shades, a color change is easy. nutrisse has 77. from our darkest blacks, to our lightest blondes. it nourishes while it colors. plus avocado, olive and shea. change a little, or a lot. nutrisse. nourished hair. better color. by garnier, naturally! the new samsung galaxy s21 this looks different. it is. show me. just hit record! see that? you're filming in 8k. that's cinema quality. so... you can pull photos straight from video. impressive. but will it last a whole trip? you'll have battery all day. and then more. this is different. told you. ♪ i've traveled further to the coastal town of limoni. this place is where ordinary italians come to play, flirt and tan by the sea. this is really beautiful. often looked down on by the rich cities, this is an unpretentious working class playground built on the rubble left by second world war bombs. obviously, i'm here to eat. director federico fellini is rimini's most famous son, and it's his films that have given the world the iconic romantic image of italy that persists today and casts italians as a fiery, passionate people driven by their hearts and stomachs. fellini's childhood here in rimini was the inspiration for many of his dreamily surreal and unbearably sexy movies. i'm meeting his niece, francesca fellini. >> "amarcord" is fellini's movie about a young boy growing up in fascist rimini in the 1930s and the tensions in and out of the home. he was very particular about his food, so that when he would come here and visit, he would ask -- >> my mother, my sister of federico. >> to cook very specific things. >> of course. he would take the phone and i'm just arriving in two hours in rimini. i want a -- and my mom, that was great. >> even when he game a world famous director, fellini still craved the simple local dishes of his hometown. he said life is a combination of magic and pasta. >> federico would adore this kind of place, this kind of restaurant. >> so francesca is taking me to a local place where they still make specialties he loved like cappeletti, pasta parcels traditionally eaten in broth on christmas day. >> can i introduce you to alessandra, the queen of the pasta in romagna? >> alessandra, it's nice to meet you. >> are you hungry? >> yes. >> cappeletti. >> like a priest's head? >> yes. >> rural romagna was under the control of the papacy for centuries, so it's not surprising that this pasta refers to the catholic cardinals' jaunty hats. >> all the elements are very poor, flavor. >> wow. >> they are good eggs. it's important that is very thin. >> you almost want to be able to see your hand through it, right? >> yes. >> beautiful. oh, i see. >> the priest hats. alessandra is also making strozzapreti, or priest choker, a specialty born of necessity and poverty using just water, flour and a little salt. >> every cut is perfect. >> would choke with this pasta. >> that's funny. it has everything in it. revolution, anger, religion, and death. >> and death. >> in a plate of pasta. fantastic. so. >> cappeletti in broth. you have to try it. >> yes. >> something special. >> oh my god! that's great. >> you have -- >> hopefully we're not going to choke. oh my god, the only reason you would choke on them is if you ate them too fast because they were so good. >> it's really full of emotion. >> yeah, because you used to come here, right? >> yes. >> we're ending the day with an aperitif at a federico haunt, the grand hotel. >> i consider him a magician in my life. >> the pasta of romagna demonstrates how ingenious the people of this region are. >> cheers. >> the unique climate, some strict rules, and a few simple quality ingredients are all they need to conjure up a kind of magic. >> bellissimo. >> and create incredible dishes that are famous the world over. ♪ very exciting to be back in rome again. at every turn there's something of historical significance. look at that. it's literally like you're living inside a museum. even if you've never been to rome, you've been to rome. its stories have been told and retold on stage and screen. the city of togas and gladiators, power and intrigue, empire and ruin. and of course la dolce vita, the good life. i'm stanley tucci, italian on both sides and i'm traveling across italy to discover how the food in each of this country's 20 regions is as unique as the people and their past. the famous ancients of rome once ruled the world.