The Delicious Diversity of Parmigiano Reggiano

Probably the most famous and imitated Italian cheese worldwide, Parmigiano Reggiano owes its name to the two cities of Parma and Reggio Emilia, both located in the Emilia-Romagna. It is a region well known for its exceptional food and wine heritage including delicious salami, handmade fresh egg pasta, cheeses, Lambrusco wine, and much more. The renowned PDO cheese is made in a vast area of the region. This also includes other provinces such as Modena and portions of Bologna (to the left of the Reno River), and Mantua (to the right of the Po River) where local farms feed the cattle on locally grown forage, with no use of silage, fermented feeds, and animal flour. This focus on animal husbandry, the cheese-makers skill, and a century-long tradition ensure outstanding quality and the obtainment of the PDO stamp.

 

Unique Characteristics of Parmigiano Reggiano

• Breeds

• Maturation

• Regionality

• Kosher, Halal and Organic

Many factors contribute to this cheese’s outstanding diversity. Cattle, for instance, can vary from the widespread Italian Frisona (brought to Italy at the end of the 19th century from the Dutch region of Friesland) to the Brown Cow introduced in the Parma in the mid-18th century to the most rare and precious triple-attitude breed White Modenese, and Vacche Rosse with their reddish coat. Maturation, from a minimum of 12 months up to 48 or even longer, gives the cheese rich, unexpected flavors and aromas and a spectrum of different textures. Since 2013, the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium also launched the “Quality Project Mountain Product” label to the cheese made by the over 110 dairies and over 1,200 cattle farmers located in the mountain areas of the Apennines ridge expanding from Bologna to Modena, Reggio Emilia and Parma, where about 20% of overall production is made. Besides Kosher and Halal-certified products, the green label indicates wheels made from organic farming. Thus, every single producer can give birth to unique cheeses, all fulfilling the excellent taste expectation linked to the name Parmigiano Reggiano. Read more about the original Parmigiano Reggiano breeds. 

 

Organic Parmigiano Reggiano

Organic breeders and producers operate in all parts of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO region. In the Parma province, on the pristine hills of Medesano and the mountains of the upper Val Ceno, at Parmabio the Brugnoli family has been producing Parmigiano Reggiano since the 1960s. The countryside near Bardi, a tiny medieval village, is rich with spontaneous and medicinal flora, and cattle are fed with pasture and organic and mountain fodder. This allows the production of excellent organic cheese in full compliance with the discipline of organic farming adopted throughout the entire production process, from hay to cheese. Wheels of cheese mature up to over 4 years. Until the 24th month, the taste of milk stays sharply detectable, as maturation proceeds, the white dots of proteins transformed into amino acids are evident, and taste and flavors become richer and more intense, even though a certain sweetness remains.

 

In the Bologna province, in Anzola nell’Emilia (yet originally located in the Sant’Anna village near San Cesario sul Panaro, in the Modena province, Sant’Anna Bio has been making cheese since 1959, turning to organic farming and production in 1997. Working together with the University of Parma and the Research Centre on Animal Production of Reggio Emilia, they even developed and adopted a private production standard called OltreBio, meaning “beyond organic,” to virtuously manage the entire agri-food supply chain for Organic Parmigiano Reggiano: from happy, pampered cows free to browse from outdoor to the stables and eating locally and sustainably grown fodder, to the daily production of organic Parmigiano Reggiano using half skim milk from the evening milking, and half whole milk from the morning milking, washing the boilers with the same whey used to curdle the milk, instead of chemical detergents. The wheels mature in the dark on the long shelves made from spruce wood planks, up to 36 months and beyond, with flavors evolving from delicate fresh milk, yogurt, and butter notes with traces of fresh herbs to the intense, nutty scents with hints of dried mushrooms and spices in the wheels aged 60 months. 

 

A Fully Immersive Cheese Experience

In the Frignano mountain district near Modena, since 1964, the village of Serramazzoni is home to Santa Rita Bio. The company led by Graziano Poggioli, born in 1964 as a cooperative, today represents the final link in a closed supply chain composed of nine agricultural companies, from cattle raising to the transformation of organic milk into Parmigiano Reggiano at the Caseificio Ca’ Vecchino in Ospitaletto. What makes their cheese unique is farming the rare white Modenese cow (along with the Frisona or Friesian), included in the Slow Food Presidium due to the risk of extinction. Once common in the local farms, this breed was replaced by more productive ones after World War II, within the scope of the European Recovery Program: “It was the queen of Parmigiano Reggiano thanks to its milk, richer in protein and fat, and in the region, there were up to 240 thousand heads. Today, it is an endangered species, but since 2005 a project to save it has been implemented: today we count about 180 heads in our ‘custodian farms’, among which 80 are in lactation,” Poggioli explains. This means that only three wheels per day are made by Santa Rita Bio, just one of them, produced in a half-filled boiler, and called a “male” wheel, instead of the usual “twin” wheels made from a full boiler being organic. The dairy makes only around one hundred wheels per year, while the average produced in the district is 4 million wheels.

This rare cheese, produced according to the Parmigiano Reggiano artisanal tradition, is carefully matured in dedicated traditional warehouses for as long as 180 months. Thanks to its richness, these are true “meditation” bites, also sold in 50-gram packages, to be enjoyed with a glass of bold, long-aged red wine like a vintage Amarone or Brunello.

 

The vertical and horizontal tastings hosted by Santa Rita Bio fully disclose the subtle and striking differences between differently aged cheeses and different milks. Located in the heart of the Emilian Apennines, in a pristine scenery, the company also offers a camper and tents area with essential services for a basic yet relaxing stay and a farm restaurant to enjoy the typical local cuisine. This is also a great chance to visit the Ca’ Vecchino dairy, with a guided tour explaining all the different steps of the artisanal process to transform the milk into delicious and precious wheels.

 

Selecting Wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano

Besides producers, selection and aging companies also play a role in guaranteeing excellent quality. Val Taro Formaggi for example, was founded in the 1930s by Adelmo Torri, an experienced merchant who decided to devote himself to selecting and selling Parmigiano Reggiano and even managing cooperative cheese factories. Torri’s descendants have followed in his footsteps. Comparable to cheese grading in other regions, they carefully pick the cheese produced in small dairies in Parma and Reggio Emilia using traditional hammer and corer tools, determining which wheels have aging potential, and maturing until the ideal moment (up to 48 months and beyond). Their final step is expertly cutting the wheels into different sizes and packaging them with recyclable material with freshness-saving features. Their products are now even traceable through blockchain.