PARMIGIANO REGGIANO CHEESE TOUR
The story of Parmigiano Reggiano began in Emilia Romagna a long time ago in 1200 at the Benedictine monasteries in the area between the Po and the Apennines, and despite the introduction of modern machinery, little has changed since. The recipe (milk, natural whey and rennet) remains the same, and the simple production process has been passed down from generation to generation. Today like in the past, cheese masters continue in their effort and in their risk by sincerely and proudly persisting in making their cheese with solely milk, rennet, fire and art, and in abiding by the rigorous centuries-old methods and application of the technique that is the result of special vocations and matured experiences.
The production cycle of Parmigiano Reggiano
Parmigiano Reggiano is produced exclusively in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and parts of the provinces of Mantova and Bologna, on the plains, hills and mountains enclosed between the rivers Po and Reno. This area is home to around 4,000 farms where cattle are fed only with local fodder
Every day the milk that was milked the evening before is left to rest until the morning in large vats. The whole milk from the morning milking is added to the milk from the previous evening
The milk coagulates in about ten minutes. The curd that is obtained is fragmented into small grains thanks to an antique technique called ‘spino’. T
he transformation from milk into cheese is made without the addition of additives and preservatives, prohibited for Parmigiano Reggiano
At the end, the cheese grains fall to the bottom of the cauldron, forming a single mass. Then the cheese master removes the cheese mass with skilled movements
Cut into two parts and wrapped in a typical cloth, the cheese is placed in a cheese mould that gives it its final shape
Then, with the application of a casein label, each cheese wheel is marked with a unique progressive number that accompanies it like its own identity card
Then the cheese wheels are immersed in a water and salt-saturated solution: this process of salting by absorption closes the production cycle
The cheese wheels are laid out in long rows on wooden tables in the silent maturation rooms
During the maturation period Parmigiano Reggiano acquires its typical granular, flaky structure