Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan, the king of cheese, is made simply with milk, whey and salt, but these ingredients must be combined taking time and with the mastery of the skills demanded by this craft. The Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano was created in 1934 in Reggio Emilia but embraces several dairies in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantua (on the right bank of the River Po) and Bologna (left bank of the River Reno), as these form the Parmesan production zone. Quality Parmesan is about balance, the right harmony between the quality of the animal feed, and therefore of the milk, traditional production methods (unchanged for centuries) and natural maturing. Of course, there are no preservatives, anti-fermenting agents, additives or colorants and, to guarantee this, everything is strictly overseen by the Consortium.
100 g of Parmigiano Reggiano contains:
392KCal
30.8g water
33.0g protein (including 23% of free amino acids)
28.4 fat
1.39g salt
1.6g lactic acid
1.16g calcium
0.68g phosphorus
0.55g sodium
vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, B12, PP, choline and biotin
The milk from the evening milking is partially skimmed via natural surface skimming. In the morning, the cheese-maker mixes it with the milk from the morning milking and places it in copper vats. After the milk is heated to 33°C, the whey is added as well as a natural culture of milk fermenters, obtained from the natural acidification of the whey from the previous day's processing and rennet. The curd obtained is broken up with a special tool called a spino and reduced to small grains, then cooked for about 10-12 minutes at 55°C. After cooking, the mass settled on the bottom of the vat is extracted, wrapped in the marking band and placed in the steel moulds. This ensures the band presses the dotted ‘Parmigiano Reggiano’ logo on the side of the mould, along with the dairy registration number, month and year of production. At this point, the moulds are placed for 20-24 days in a saline solution to absorb salt and lose water. The cheese is ripened in special stores and invariably carries with it a wonderful trepidation, because the miracle of perfect maturation is in the hands of nature and its slow pace. Around the twelfth month, each cheese wheel is carefully examined by experts. If the expert from the Consorzio deems the wheel appropriate, the brand is heat-impressed onto the cheese.
Parmigiano Reggiano statistics for 2011
12 months minimum ageing
20-24 months average ageing
16 litres of milk to produce 1 kg of Parmigiano Reggiano
550 litres of milk to produce a wheel
39kg is the average weight of a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano
3, 558 farms supply milk to the dairies
224,000 cows produce milk solely for processing
15% of all milk in Italy is used for the production of Parmigiano Reggiano
383 cheese-producing dairies
3,231,915 wheels produced
€ 1,215 million - estimated sum generated by production
€ 1,892 million - estimated sum generated by consumption
32% export volume of total production
20,000 employees
European Protection
Since 1996, Parmigiano Reggiano has protected denomination of origin (PDO or, to use the Italian acronym DOP) status, that is, it is protected under a regime agreed at EU level to safeguard consumers and producers.