Why you should avoid "Parmesan" cheese? And what you should buy instead...

A wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (the real Parmesan)

Parmesan is one of the most famous cheeses in the world and is an ubiquitous presence on the table of any Italian restaurant. What is less known is that anything labeled “Parmesan” is not in fact Parmesan. In fact the name “Parmesan” is no longer permitted to be used within the European Union. What was true Parmesan is now called Parmigiano-Reggiano and can only be made in the area spanning from Parma to Mantova under strict conditions regulated by the Parmigiano-Reggiano consortium. It is a product protected by the EU (PDO – Protected Designation of Origin).

Map of the production area for Parmgiano-Reggiano

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is rich in calcium (232 mg in 20 gms!), phosphorous and vitamins. It is also rich in protein (6.6 gms in 20 gms), low in cholesterol and is easily digestible. Doctors in Italy often recommend it for children, the elderly, athletes and new mothers. In Italy it is served on its own, drizzled with traditional balsamic vinegar, as an accompaniment to vegetables, nuts or fruit or is shaved onto pastas, soups (or just the rind added while cooking for an extra depth of flavour), salads or main dishes.

Parmigiano-Reggiano with balsamic vinegar and bresaola

Parmigiano-Reggiano was first produced by Benedectine monks in the 12th century in the area between the Po River and Apennine Mountains. It is distinct from cheeses produced even under similar methods (like Grana Padano) due to the feed of the cows, the quality of their milk, the skill of the artisan cheese makers, the long maturing time and the natural fermenting agents.

Rows of cauldrons full of milk

Today there are about 200 producers of Parmigiano-Reggiano ranging in size from producing 4 cheeses a day to 100 wheels a day. They are limited by the number of cauldrons (each cauldron can produce 2 cheeses and they are only issued enough official stamps for the number of wheels they can produce in one day).

The tables the milk sits in during the night to separate the cream

We visited CPL Parma, a medium-sized dairy producing Parmigiano-Reggiano to see how it is made. The cheese is made once a day in the morning. It is made using milk from the Bianca Modenese cattle (white cows of Modena) who are fed only locally grown hay, grass and alfalfa. The cows are milked twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. The milk from the evening is brought into the dairy within two hours and placed in long stainless steel tables.

The windows are opened to allow the milk to breathe

The windows are opened to give a bit of a breeze and during the night the milk fats float to the top. These are skimmed off and used to make butter. The remaining skimmed milk is mixed with the morning milk (again within 2 hours of milking), veal rennet (to coagulate the milk) and 20 litres of the previous day’s whey from making cheese (acts as a culture of natural lactic fermentation to expedite the process) in large cone-shaped copper-lined pots more than 2 meters deep. The pots hold 1,100 to 1,200 litres of milk which will become 2 wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano (it takes 16 litres of milk to make 1 kilo of cheese).

Morning milk is added to the evening milk and churned

We watched 7 very serious men deftly working the milk to create cheese. They fill pots (which are hollow with copper on the inside and stainless steel on the outside) with the milk. Then the rennet coagulates the milk to create curds (“grana” in Italian which is where the name “Grana Padano” comes from). The curds are broken up with a huge balloon whisk (spino). The hollow part of the pot fills with steam to heat the milk to 50-55C. Once all the curds have released their liquid, the heat is turned off and the curds sink to the bottom of the pot.

The curd being collected in linen cloth

The bundles of curd are tied up

The curd is collected in large pieces of linen (traditionally hemp was used). The curd created weighs 100 kilos. Two very strong men hold opposite ends of the cloth while a third man cuts the curd mass in half to form two wheels of cheese. A second cloth is used to extract the second mass of curd.

The curd being cut in half

Strong men lifting the 50 kilo bundles of curd

These are tied to a wooden stick to drain off excess whey before being lifted, dipped in cold water to cool it and placed into a mould (fascera). The moulds are weighted down to further remove any liquid to inhibit bacteria. Almost the entire process of making the cheese is done by hand although some are beginning to mechanise the whisking, lifting the curd, salting and brushing the finished cheeses.

The curd is dipped in cold water to cool it

The curd is placed in a mould

The curd is weighed down to press out excess liquid

The cheese is taken to a room to rest for 2 to 3 days while the whey is used to feed pigs or is used as an ingredient in beauty products, pharmaceuticals and energy drinks.

The EU issued markings pressed into the cheese indicating it is authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano

The press to imprint markings into the cheese

EU scannable coding to identify each wheel of cheese

After the cheese has rested, the cheese is transferred to a perforated metal mould lined with a brail-like stamp for another 2 to 3 days. The stamps are issued by the consortium and have the words “Parmigiano-Reggiano” in a repeating pattern. The stamp also identifies the number of the dairy which made the cheese and the date of production. The top is marked with a unique European Union-issued alphanumeric code which can be scanned to identify the cheese. A blank space is left where the cheese will be branded once it is 12 months old.

Cheese being brined (not salt pile on left which gets absorbed if the salinity drops)

Cheese being brined (note salt pile on right which gets absorbed if the salinity drops)

We entered a silent, dark room filled with long tubs. This is where the cheese is then soaked in a salt-water brine (using Mediterranean salt) for 20 days in order to salt the cheese to flavour and preserve it. The size of the wheels of cheese have increased over the past 100 years as with the larger size the cheese attains the correct texture and salinity. The salt sits in a perforated tub, the water adjusting the salinity itself to ensure equilibrium. The cheese is turned every day using a stick.

The wall of cheese

The robot that brushes the cheeses

Finally we walked into a huge warehouse which was filled with several solid walls 10 meters tall of cheese. This is where the cheese is matured for up to 24 months or more to develop texture and flavour. A robot was moving up and down the walls of cheese, removing a wheel, brushing it and placing it back. The cheese is continually brushed to keep it clean.

A wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese ready for the market with the green stamp and oval Parmigiano Reggiano Consorzio Tutela imprint

The stool they place the wheels of cheese to test them

After 12 months, an expert cheese tester arrives, places the cheese on a heavy stool and knocks on the cheese with a mallet, listening intently for the correct uniformity of sound. Only once he has approved the cheese with a green marking can it become “Parmigiano-Reggiano” and be branded with the oval mark reading, “Parmigiano Reggiano Consorzio Tutela” with the year of production.

Imperfect Parmigiano-Reggiano marked by grooves

The cheeses are categorised by their age with “Parmigiano Reggiano Mezzano” indicating the cheese is young, not much more than 12 months old indicated by grooves around the circumference of the wheel. Imperfect Parmigiano-Reggiano are also marked with grooves and sold before 18 months at a discount.

Wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano

More mature “Parmigiano Reggiano” can be inspected again at 18 or 24 months or more. If they meet the higher standard, they can be stamped with “Export” or “Extra”. The most prized is between 24 to 30 months when it is soft yet has pockets of crystals.

Notable markings are the black "Parmigiano-Reggiano" stamp on the bottom left and the yellow and red "Denominazione d'Origine Protteta" in the upper right corner

Notable markings are the black “Parmigiano-Reggiano” stamp on the bottom left and the yellow and red “Denominazione d’Origine Protetta” in the upper right corner

When purchasing Parmigiano-Reggiano in pieces or shaved, look for these guarantee marks below to ensure you are getting the real thing. There is also variability within certified Parmigiano-Reggiano. Markers of quality are a thin crust, visible grain in the cheese, uniformity of colour and the colour should not be too dark or orange. It can be stored in the refrigerator at 4C sealed in plastic for a few months.

So if you are in a shop and see cheese labelled, “Parmesan” this indicates it was made outside of Europe using an unknown process and without quality assurance. Cheese labelled Parmigiano-Reggiano with the guarantee marks indicates the cheese is from the vicinity of Parma, was made strictly adhering to the process described above with mandatory quality inspections to ensure its high quality. Which would you prefer to buy?

If you are visiting Emilia, I strongly suggest a tour of a Parmigiano-Reggiano producer one morning.

At the end of the summer, there are demonstrations of the traditional method of making Parmigiano-Reggiano over a wood fire in some towns.

To arrange a tour, contact the Consorzio:

Consorzio di Parmigiano-Reggiano

Viale Virgilio 55

Modena

Tel: +39 059 208630

Www.parmigiano-reggiano.it

Comments

Elaine says
June 23, 2015 at 9:40 pm
this was very interesting but had nothing to do with your title. Why not buy Parmesan? and What to buy instead?
- wooweiduan says
  June 25, 2015 at 6:41 am
  Hi Elaine, Thank you for posting. I should have made this more clear and will edit the post now. Parmesan was renamed Parmigiano-Reggiano because there were too many people copying it but not using the same process and maintaining the high standards of quality. Parmesan now means a cheese made somewhere outside Europe using any process with or without any standards of quality. Parmigiano-Reggiano is from the vicinity of Parma and is made using the process I describe and held to the quality standards I describe. So if you see a cheese labelled “Parmesan” in the store, it could be anything. You should look for the label to say “Parmigiano-Reggiano” and look for the markings I describe. Instead of buying Parmesan, buy Parmigiano-Reggiano instead. I hope that is clear.
Dana Tutela says
July 7, 2017 at 12:16 am
Why is Tutela included in the stamp? That’s our last name and saw it recently on a trip to Florence. Just curious!
Thank you-
Dana
- wooweiduan says
  July 9, 2017 at 9:44 pm
  Hi Dana, “Tutela” means “protection” or “guardianship” so in this case, the origin and production of the Parmigiano-Reggiano is protected by the Parmigiano-Reggiano consortium (consorzio). The cheese only receives this marking once the consortium has inspected the cheese and approves it. Anyway it is a nice meaning for a family name. Hope this helps!

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