Parmigiano-Reggiano: The King of Cheeses
We made it to Italy! We're staying in a 400 year old villa (pics to come) and have gotten settled in to our quiet mountain village, just south of Reggio-Emilia in the state of Emilia Romagna. This region is known for its spectacular food products-- parmesan cheese, prosciutto, balsamic vinegar, lambrusco, and fantastic fried bread called gnocco fritto. So, when in the home of the best food in the world, what's the first thing to do? Well a food tour of course. Here is the first leg of our tour, a Parmesan factory that houses over a million dollars with of cheese.
The most impressive part of this tour and perhaps of all the food tours that we’ve taken were the jaw dropping views of literally thousands of rounds cheese. At 24 months, 36 months, and 60 months, these cheese rounds were treated with the utmost care. Quality control consists of tapping on the cheese round with a small hammer. The resonating echo tells the quality control expert that the core is properly intact and hasn’t eroded or molded during this minimum 2 year commitment.
All this effort is worth it when you let a thin slices of the scintillatingly salty and distinctly nutty Parmesan Reggiano infiltrate every taste bud and sense that you have. The notion that this cheese has been cared for for more than 3 years should make you even more appreciative of Italy itself, and the centuries of craftsmanship that you can sprinkle all over next plate of pasta.
