DOP, DOCG, and a Gelateria Named Backwards

Everything on this table carries a designation you can check, which is unusual enough to be the point. Prosciutto di Parma DOP. Cinta Senese DOP, from a Tuscan pig breed that came within a few hundred animals of dying out before it was brought back. Pure black truffle pate on Asiago. Balsamic vinegar aged thirty years, poured over Parmigiano Reggiano aged thirty-six months. Honey infused with truffle. Sun-dried tomatoes. Pesto Genovese DOP. DOCG wine, free-flowing, which is the top tier of the Italian classification and the only one that requires a state-appointed tasting panel before a bottle can be sold. DOP and DOCG are not decoration. They tie a product to a place and a method, and a producer who breaks either loses the label. Knowing which of the things in front of you carries one is the difference between buying well and buying a nice tin. The guide works through each of them and answers what you actually want to ask, plus what to look for elsewhere in Italy afterwards. The last stop is Otaleg, one of the best known gelaterie in Rome. Read the name backwards. Meet outside the Essenza Wine Bar, Via della Scala 27. The walk ends at Otaleg on Via di San Cosimato.