WHEREITALLBEGAN...
MonksfirstproducedParmigiano
ReggianointheMiddleAges.Driven
bythequesttomakea cheesethat
lasteda longtime,theyallowedthe
masstodryandincreasedthewheel
size,enablingit tokeepforlonger
andtravelwell.It’sthisdurability
thatremainsoneofparmesan’s
mainsellingpointstothisday.Thecheeseevenmadeitsdebut
intheliteraryworldin1344,when
ItalianwriterGiovanniBoccaccio
mentionedit inhisnovella,The
Decameron. Describingthe
imaginarytownofBengodi,he
detaileda mountainof“grated
parmesan”ontopofwhich
“macaroniandravioli”were
rolled.Bellissima!History in themakingForalmost1,000years,
ParmigianoReggianohasbeen
oneofItaly’sfinestculinary
exports,soit’snosurpriseits
storyisasuniqueasitstasteF
ewthingshavestoodthetest
oftimequitelikeParmigiano
Reggiano.Firstproduced
ninecenturiesago,thisworld-
renownedcheeseis aspopular
todayasit everwas.Thesecretto
itssuccess?Cherishedtraditions,
naturalingredientsandartisan
farmerswitha genuinelovefor
thecraft.
Rightdowntotheuseoflocal
cows’milk,thisinimitablePDO
(ProtectedDesignationofOrigin)
cheeseis madesolelyinthe
provincesofParma,ReggioEmilia,
ModenaandMantuatotheright
oftheriverPoandBolognatothe
leftoftheriverRenoinnorthern
Italy.Indeed,ParmigianoReggiano
is producedwithsomuchcare,
thatit’spracticallyanartform.
Lefttomaturefora minimum
TofindoutmoreaboutParmigianoReggiano,visitparmigianoreggiano.com
@parmigianoreggianouk @parmesanuk @ParmigianoReggianoUK
of 12 months– thelongestofall
PDOcheeses– it is inspectedonly
bytheConsortium,a protective
bodywhoseexpertsdetermine
if a wheelhasmadethegrade.
Whenagedbetween 12 and 18
months,thecheesehasa delicate
milkyaromathatgoeswellwith
sparklingwhitewines,whilea
wheelthat’slefttomaturefor 22
to 24 monthshasnotesoffresh
fruitandnutsandworks
wonderfullywithmedium-bodied
wines.Agedbetween 30 and 36
months,it hasa richflavourand
grainytexturethatmarriesperfectly
withhoneyandfruit.Foranintense
parmesanthatboastsa varied
aromaticspectrum,a Parmigiano
Reggianothat’sbeenagedfor
40 monthsormoreis theultimate
cheeseboardaddition.