Parmigiano Reggiano: Unique and Inimitable
The Art of Production
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Preparation
The morning and previous evening's milk are poured into traditional copper cauldrons. About 550 liters of milk are needed for each wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano. The milk coagulates naturally with the addition of rennet and starter whey rich in lactic bacteria.
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Curd Cooking and Molding
The master cheesemaker breaks the curd into tiny granules using an ancient tool called a "spino." The mixture is then heated to 55°C, causing the granules to settle into a single mass. After fifty minutes, the cheesemaker extracts the mass, which becomes two wheels of cheese, wrapped in linen and placed in molds for their final shape.
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The Origin Marks
Each wheel is assigned a casein plate with a unique and sequential alphanumeric code: this is its identity card, allowing its origin to be identified at any time and in any place
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Salting
A few days later, the wheels are immersed in a saturated solution of water and salt for osmosis salting. With this final step, the production cycle of Parmigiano Reggiano is complete, and the aging process begins.
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Aging
The story of Parmigiano Reggiano is a long one, but also a slow one, unfolding at the natural rhythm of the seasons. The minimum aging period is 12 months, the longest among all PDO cheeses. Only at that point can it be determined whether each wheel can retain the name imprinted at its origin and continue aging for 24, 36, 40 months, or even longer.
Quality Control
