Unique and inimitable,
Parmigiano Reggiano
it has no preservatives
and without additives
Parmigiano Reggiano is the King of cheeses,
unmistakable and inimitable, guaranteed by the Protection Consortium.
Born in the cradle of our hills and plains, Parmigiano Reggiano cannot be simply defined as a cheese but is the product par excellence of the art of master cheesemakers who have passed down knowledge and tradition for over a century.
Like all great products, the production process of Parmigiano Reggiano is complex and detailed. Below we outline the essential stages of its production.
1. The delivery of milk
The main ingredient is obviously the milk produced by the members, of which the contribution from the morning milking is used directly, plus the portion from the previous evening's milking, stored in special refrigerated tanks in which a surfacing also occurs, allowing part of the cream to be separated.
This will be used both in the processing of butter and in the production of ricotta.
The raw milk is poured into traditional copper vats, each containing approximately 11.5 quintals of raw material, and heated here by jets of steam underneath the vats, until it reaches the right temperature, controlled with the help of special precision thermostats.
2. The curd
After adding the rennet (strictly natural and partly obtained from the previous day's processing, so that it is effectively "perpetuated" just like yeast in traditional bread making), which must be done at a stabilized temperature, the rennet is left to take effect for a few minutes, transforming the entire liquid mass of the milk into a state similar to that of a gel or medium-density yogurt.
The cheesemaker's experience allows them to assess this consistency by touching it, "stroking" the loose surface of the product with their hand. Once the optimal conditions are reached, the curd is finely broken with a special tool.
This stage is particularly important because excessive or uneven granule size could result in holes in the finished cheese, which would cause the wheel to be rejected: let's remember that this is where Parmigiano Reggiano is produced, the pinnacle of cheesemaking.
3. Cooking, resting and lifting the curd
After the curd has been broken, a cooking phase takes place with a very precise temperature and duration.
Afterwards, decantation is allowed to take place, which will lead to the separation of the whey from the solid mass, which settles to the bottom.
After a few more minutes, the steaming hot curd, with its slightly rubbery consistency similar to scamorza and still bland in taste, is ready to be lifted out: this operation is carried out by two workers, under the supervision of the cheesemaker (see sequence of images below).
In the first phase, one of the two compacts the curdled mass by turning it and lifting it from the bottom with a special tool, while the colleague waits for the right moment to intervene, quickly inserting a pure hemp cloth under the rounded mass.
Even though the curd tends to partially float in the whey remaining in the cooking vat, both workers still need the strength to lift and compact the curd, holding the cloth by its four corners and rolling the curd, rounding it and making it symmetrical; this will facilitate the subsequent cutting phase.
First, however, the hemp cloth with its precious cargo (around 100 kg of wet mass), from which two wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano will be born, is hung from a wooden crosspiece, like a bundle.
It's worth remembering that the curd is the result of processing approximately 11.5 quintals of that "super milk" we mentioned.
But a large amount of whey remains in the cooking vat, still very rich in proteins and a modest amount of fat.
Thus, part of the leftover, still-warm whey can be used, as we'll see, to produce as much ricotta as desired; while the rest can be used in animal husbandry as an excellent supplement, to create refined feed.
4. Cutting the curd
While the bundle is hanging, an attentive worker uses a large knife to cut it into two exactly equal halves.
After 12-24 months, each one will become one of those perfectly identical Parmigiano Reggiano wheels that we will soon see lined up in the maturing warehouse.
With their usual skill, the two workers separate them into two separate bundles, using a second hemp cloth, and hang both from the crosspiece. Then they can begin partially emptying the cooking vat, just enough so that the two masses remain suspended in the air for easy draining.
At the end of the operation, two beautiful steaming bundles hang in each of the 10 half-empty cooking vats: everything is ready for the transfer phase of the masses into the moulds.
5. From the "ball" to the cylinder: insertion into the temporary moulds
While the bundles complete the draining process, hanging on their respective cooking vats, the workers bring the cylindrical moulds in which the curds will be placed onto special trolleys-pallets, to give them a shape that more closely resembles the final appearance of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Once the bundle has been unwound from its crosspiece, two workers carry it to the wrapping machine where they will lower it still "dressed" in its hemp cloth.
The result? A beautiful row of "newborn" Parmigiano Reggiano wheels, still in their rough shape, ready to be transferred, after about 24 hours, to their final resting place.
6. From the cylinder to the "barrel": insertion into the final moulds
As we well know, a Parmigiano Reggiano wheel does not look like a cylinder, but rather like a barrel: the sides are not perfectly vertical, but "pot-bellied".
This shape is impressed on the cheese by the final moulds, in which it is passed for a few hours after the settling phase in the cylindrical moulds.
The sides of the cheese are also stamped with the familiar perforated "Parmigiano-Reggiano" motif on the metal moulds, using a raised plaque. This stamp also includes the year of manufacture, the identification of the dairy of origin (for the Villa Curta dairy, this is number 105), and a space for the Consortium's emblem, following inspection in due course.
At this point in the process, it's clear that thanks to the careful organization of time, the sequential processing in the cooking and salting vats with a "Tayloristic" approach almost like an assembly line, and, of course, the extensive experience of the staff, the entire process is carried out by just three workers, including the cheesemaker, who is overall responsible for production.
An error made during the described processing stages risks emerging months or years later, when the cheese is subjected to a "hammer" analysis by special experts from the consortium.
There can therefore be no room for improvisation or approximation.
7. The tosone: who was he?
At this stage, it may be necessary to shear off any excess cheese protruding from the mold, resulting in the so-called "tosone": it appears in the form of strips of freshly processed cheese, often with a rough consistency on one side due to the impression of the weave of the ropes in which the cheese was still wrapped.
This delicious "scrap", completely identical to the rest of the initial mass of cheese destined to become Parmigiano Reggiano after 12-24 months, has a chewy consistency and a flavour quite similar to that of fresh scamorza.
It's hard to find in stores, but it's definitely worth a try.
You can also try heating it in the microwave and spreading it on a slice of bread, a real delight.
8. Salting
After being kept in the metal moulds for long enough to finally take on the unmistakable rounded "barrel" shape, the fresh Parmigiano Reggiano wheels are salted for several days in special tanks containing a saturated saline solution at a carefully controlled temperature.
The handling of the forms that pass through this stage of processing on a daily basis is achieved through automatic lifts.
To ensure that the cheese is salted for the exact number of days, the cheeses are naturally marked with a stamp showing the production date.
The purpose of salting is to make the cheese preservable (and mature, of course) for a long time.
The salting process has two main effects: first, it removes moisture, which dissolves due to the significant difference in salt concentration between the cheese and the brine; second, it evenly distributes a minimal amount of salt throughout the cheese, which helps give it its traditional flavor.
The process naturally starts from the periphery of the shape and slowly proceeds towards its center.
Precisely to give these processes time to take place completely, it is necessary for the permanence in brine to last a very specific length of time.
At the end of this process, Parmigiano Reggiano is ready for a long "rest period," that of maturing, during which it will definitively take on its traditional characteristics.
9. The seasoning
Once the salting phase is complete, a wheel is ready to be stored in the maturing warehouse, which is also air-conditioned and characterised by a highly orderly structure.
The Villa Curta dairy's warehouse, divided into two wings, can house several thousand cheeses at various stages of maturation: from when the Parmigiano Reggiano is still "young" and light in color until, 18-24 months later, when the rind has acquired the familiar dark beige hue.
After 12 months of maturation, the cheese has already achieved appreciable organoleptic characteristics and is sold as first-matured Parmigiano Reggiano. However, it is only after approximately 18-24 months that all the enzymatic transformations that ensure the characteristic flavour and typical consistency of Parmigiano Reggiano can be considered complete.
Further maturing, up to 3 and sometimes even 4 years, is at the discretion of taste.
During its stay in the maturing warehouse, a Parmigiano Reggiano wheel is not left to itself: it is regularly rotated and brushed, and at pre-established intervals it is visited by specialists from the Consortium, who check by ear, with special hammer blows struck at various points of the wheel, that there are no cavities inside.
An experienced technician is able to "visit" several dozen, if not hundreds, of forms per hour in this way.
Also at this stage, once the required checks have been passed, each approved wheel receives the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium's branding, which definitively certifies the product's compliance with the strict specifications required.
The logo appears on the side of the cheese, between the identification number of the dairy of origin and the month and year of production.
As already mentioned, only those wheels deemed compliant with the specifications are branded (with a hot iron) and definitively approved; the consortium's marks are even scratched off from the others, to prevent them from being illegally sold under the name Parmigiano Reggiano.
Matricola 105
Dairy since 1922, one hundred years of excellence
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