What You Should Know About Parmigiano Reggiano
Cracking a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano photo credit Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano
Parmigiano Reggiano might be the most famous and certainly the most copied and counterfeited cheese from Italy. While you probably know that anything labeled parmesan is not Parmigiano Reggiano, you may not know what makes the real deal so unique. Read more about parmesan versus Parmigiano Reggiano. Since 1996 Parmigiano Reggiano has had Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. It's a cheese that dates to the Middle Ages and today's cheese is highly regulated. It's part of a family of cheeses known as "grana" which also includes the PDO cheese Grana Padano. Read more about Grana Padano. Grana means grain and the name comes from the grainy texture of the cheese when mature.
How the cheese is made has not changed very much, but the Consortium shares that there were some innovations in the early 1900s and that going back to 1934, dairies in Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and Mantua agreed on the need to approve a mark of origin for their cheese. One innovation is the use of robots to flip the cheeses during aging. Read more about cheese robots and see one in action.
While parmesan cheese is ubiquitous, authentic Parmigiano Reggiano is also widely available and popular outside of Italy. In fact, the United States is the top foreign market for Parmigiano Reggiano. More than 14,000 tons of Parmigiano Reggiano were exported to the United States in 2023, accounting for 22.5 percent of the export share.
What Makes Parmigiano Reggiano Distinctive?
Regionality
Breeds
Feed
Production standards & quality
Aging
Parmigiano Reggiano can only be made in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia and Modena and in part of Mantua (to the right of the Po River) and Bologna (to the left of the Reno River). It is made with no additives, unlike Grana Padano which can be made with the addition of lysozyme, a protein extracted from hen’s egg white, to control unwanted fermentation. Cows are exclusively fed hay and grass, and no silage or fermented forage which minimizes the number of gas-producing bacteria in the milk and preserves the unique and intense bacterial activity of the local microbial flora. The flora that the cows graze on is shaped by local environmental factors.
Parmigiano Reggiano being drained in a copper pot photo credit Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigano Reggiano
The production of the cheese follows a specific set of steps. The cheese is made from a mixture of raw milk from two consecutive milkings, and the milk from the evening milking is partially skimmed after overnight creaming. The raw milk is coagulated using animal rennet and natural fermented whey is used as the bacterial starter in a copper vat. Once the curds are cut and shaped into a ball, it is divided into two identical rounds and cooked for ten minutes. The whey is drained, then the cheeses are brined for 20 days. Finally, the cheese must be aged a minimum of 12 months. The cheeses are all inspected and must adhere to the rules and standards that apply to the diameter of the wheel, the thickness of the rind, the color, texture, and flavor of the paste.
Tapping Parmigiano Reggiano to assess quality photo credit Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigano Reggiano
After 12 months of maturation, the Consortium experts carry out a quality inspection on all the wheels: each wheel is tapped with a hammer and the trained ear of the quality inspector recognizes any defects inside the cheese that may compromise quality. The conforming wheels are marked with the hot-iron brand thus becoming Parmigiano Reggiano. Meanwhile, any wheels that do not meet the PDO requirements have identifying marks and signs removed.
Types of Parmigiano Reggiano
Bianca Modenese cow
While Parmigiano Reggiano is a PDO cheese, there is a plethora of options including organic and cheese made from certain heritage breeds. While typically made from the milk of the more common Friesan or Italian Frisona cows there is also cheese made from the milk of Reggiana, red cows or vacche rosse, bruna alpina, brown cows or vacche brune and bianca Modenese, white cows or vacche bianche. The cheeses made from these original breeds are more expensive, but a rare treat. Read about the 3 original breeds used to make Parmigiano Reggiano.
Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano
Parmigiano Reggiano stacked and aging photo credit Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano
The most typical ages of Parmigiano Reggiano are 12 months, 18, months, 24 months and 36 months. According to the Consortium, while the minimum maturation is 12 months, Parmigiano Reggiano reaches a degree of maturation that fully expresses its typical characteristics at approximately 24 months. This is the most popular maturation in both Italy and the US.
The youngest 12-month Parmigiano Reggiano has a softer texture. If you're looking to grate a pile of whisper-thin strands of cheese that will be stretchy when melted, this is a good choice.
24-month-old Parmigiano Reggiano has a perfectly balanced richness of aromas and flavors on the nose and palate. In addition to milk one can detect notes of melted butter, fresh fruit, such as banana, pineapple, and citrus fruits appear along with hints of nuts and spices. Beef stock or bouillon are also perceptible. The flavor evolves into a balance between sweet and savory. The presence of numerous tyrosine crystals indicates the progress of proteolytic processes.
The Consortium also shares that the perfect age for Parmigiano Reggiano to be grated over pasta is 24 months and older, because the cheese becomes perfectly soluble, crumbly and grainy.
A 36-month Parmigiano Reggiano is considered "Stravecchio" meaning very old, and is a cheese board favorite. It benefits from a few drops of balsamic vinegar as an accompaniment.
Visiting a Parmigiano Reggiano Dairy
Seeing Parmigiano Reggiano being made is something you will never forget. The nearly 300 dairies that are part of the Consortium have been offering guided tours to foodies and schools for many years. Getting a reservation to visit a dairy used to take months. However in 2020 the Consortium launched a dedicated booking portal on their website and it became much easier to book ahead. In 2023, total visitors to the area's dairies were as many as 170,000, up 10 percent over 2022. Of these, more than 20% were from the US.