July 7th, 2011
After an early morning free breakfast feast of bread, croissants, salami, cheese, jam and muchmore at the hotel, I joined a group of American teachers on a tour of a local Parmagiano-Reggiano factory. So cool! Many of you may have heard of several imitation cheeses called Parmesan but this is the REAL STUFF!
Parmagiano Reggiano is named after the producing areas near Parma and Reggio Emilia. Under Italian law, only cheese produced in these provinces may be labeled with this name and it is protected by the office for designation of origin.
I took a 15 euro cab to Villa Sesso where we were joined by a tour guide for a 1 1/2 hour walk through the factory. She explained the entire process of making the special Parmagiano-Reggiano and lead us room to room to view each separate step.
I was extremely excited andI figured I better explain myself to the group a little bit since I may have looked like a mix between a little kid in a candy store and chinese tourist, with camera in full force. They helped so that I was able to get into a couple of the pictures and I even made friends with one of the factory workers. I didn’t get too close as he was covered in milk and water but very willing to pose with me.
Why is it so special and why do over 60% of the organizations expenses contribute to legal processes to protect the name?
There is a special production process dating back to the middle ages. It is made from clean raw cow’s milk 365 days of the year since the cows are producing fresh whole milk 365 days a year.
They start with that mornings milk is pumped into large copper-lined vats where they add starter whey and calf stomach enzymes while heating it to start the curdling processes. The vats hold approximately hold 290 gallons of milk and in the end produce 2 large wheels of cheese.
***Two big ole cheese curds coming out, ready to turn into wheels. It looked like an enormous ball of buffalo mozzarella.
***Cheese balls are placed into the first forming containers.
***Next it is placed in these stainless steel round form and after cooling for a couple days, a plastic belt is placed around the wheel at buckled tight again for one more day. The plastic belt has "Parmigiano Reggiano" numerously printed on it as well as the plant name and the month and year of production and gets imprinted on the rind of the cheese.
***The Belt*** Next it's time for a brine bath for 20-25 days to absorb salt
***After brining, the wheels are transferred to the aging room in the plant where they can sit on shelves up to 25 cheeses high by 90 cheese long.
*** At this plant, each cheese was cleaned and turned robotically on a weekly bases.
The cheese is tested by a master grader with just two instruments: a small hammer and his ear. By just tapping the cheese he can decide where it is good or not. Then it receives the ultimate stamp of approval as Parmigiano Reggiano!
Ok....I will stop boring you with so many details about cheese. You can't really get the whole idea without being there but it was really pretty cool especially for a foodie. So glad I made it. I left with some wholesale Parmigiano-Reggiano and caught my last three trains back to Heidelberg. Ciao Italy! I had a great time and can't wait to come back one day!
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