Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese: The Authentic Flavour of Italy

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, also known as Parmesan cheese, is one of the best specialities in Italian cuisine. It is used to prepare many dishes but it is also exceptional alone. Parmigiano Reggiano are the Italian adjectives for Parma and Reggio Emilia, while the name Parmesan is used for cheeses imitating the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Parmigiano Reggiano: How It Is Made
It is made from fresh cow’s milk. Traditionally, cows have to be fed only on grass or hay, producing grass fed milk. The only additive allowed is salt, which the cheese absorbs while being submerged for 20 days in brine tanks saturated to near total salinity with Mediterranean sea salt. The product is aged an average of two years. The cheese is produced daily, and it can show a natural variability. True Parmigiano Reggiano cheese has a sharp, complex fruity/nutty taste. The average Parmigiano reggiano wheel is about 18–24 centimetres high, 40–45 centimetres in diameter, and weighs 38 kilograms. Many consider it to be at its best at 24 to 30 months, when it is still soft and crumby, with tiny crunchy spots from the crystallised salt, yet rich and complex in flavour. At 12 months, the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese consortium inspects each and every cheese. The cheese is tested by a master grader whose only instruments are a hammer and his ear. By tapping the wheel at various points, he can identify undesirable cracks and voids within the wheel. Those cheeses that pass the test are then heat branded on the rind with the Consorzio’s logo. Those that don’t pass the test used to have their rinds marked with lines or crosses all the way around to inform consumers that they are not getting top-quality Parmigiano reggiano cheese; more recent practices simply have these lesser rinds stripped of all markings.

Parmigiano Reggiano: How To Eat
Gourmets consider Parmigiano Reggiano a splendid table cheese for eating not merely for grating. In Emilia-Romagna it is often paired with pears and walnuts and enjoyed at the end of a meal. Uses of the cheese include being grated with a grater over pasta, stirred into soup and risotto, and eaten in chunks with balsamic vinegar. It is also a key ingredient in sauces and pesto. Slivers and chunks of the hardest parts of the crust can also be employed as an ingredient in soups to which they add a subtler flavour or even be slowly chewed until soft; Italian mothers have fed parmigiano crusts to their children for generations, trusting in their high calcium content to help them develop stronger teeth and bones.

Parmigiano Reggiano: History
According to legend, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese was created during the Middle Ages in Bibbiano, in the province of Reggio Emilia. Its production soon spread to the Parma and Modena areas. Historical documents show that in the 13th-14th century Parmigiano Reggiano was already very similar to that produced today which suggests that its origins can be traced to far earlier.

Parmigiano Reggiano: Where to Buy Italian Cheese Online
Do you want to try Parmigiano Reggiano cheese? Do you have to cook an Italian meal and you need this special ingredient? Click on the links of these Italian online shops and discover the genuine products they can offer:

-    Igourmet.com is an Italian food store online where you will find selected and high quality products imported from Italy, including chocolate, Italian pastry online, mozzarella online, ricotta, fish, meat, the best Italian cheese, mascarpone online, sauces, oils, balsamic vinegars, wines, fruits, vegetables and above all Parmigiano reggiano cheese.  Moreover you can find also hundreds of traditional Italian recipes to cook excellent pasta, risottos with this excellent cheese.

-    Ditalia is an Italian food store online, founded in 1997.  Now it delivers Italian products all over the world. On Ditalia.com you can find a wide variety of cheese, such as the great Parmigiano reggiano cheese, pasta, oils, wines, ham, porcini mushrooms, coffee, beverages, pastries and breads.

If you need more tips visit Italian Food online, where you will find a huge selections on the best Italian food store online!