By Rafe Calder
The rind is the label. It is stamped, dotted and branded, and each mark means something.
Start with the name. Parmigiano Reggiano has held protected designation of origin status in the European Union since 1996, according to the Consorzio’s English-language guidelines. The same guidelines say “Parmesan” is considered an evocation of the protected name and may only legally refer to the protected product. That is the Consortium’s reading, and it is the trade body for the cheese, so we are attributing it.
What goes in
Both the Consortium and Wikipedia say the cheese is made from three ingredients: milk, salt and calf rennet. Wikipedia says the milk is unpasteurised cow’s milk, and that cows must be fed only grass or hay. The Consortium’s guidelines say the cows are fed mainly with forage from the area of origin and that silage is forbidden. These two descriptions do not match word for word, and we are not choosing. The Consortium also says there are no additives and no preservatives.
Where it can come from
The Consortium says the cheese comes from five provinces: Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantua on the right bank of the Po, and Bologna on the left bank of the Reno. Wikipedia describes the Mantua area as the southern bank of the Po and the Bologna area as west of the Reno. The two descriptions of the Mantua side are not the same. The Consortium’s FAQ says Mantua east of the Po, and its guidelines say right bank. We have not seen the legal text of the specification, and we are not resolving it.
How big is the industry?
Wikipedia, using 2017 data, says about 3.6 million wheels, approximately 137,000 metric tonnes, are produced each year, using roughly 18 percent of Italy’s milk. The Consortium’s guidelines say fewer than 3,000 milk producers operate approximately 300 dairies and make over four million wheels a year. The Consortium’s figure may be more recent. We do not know. It also says each wheel needs 520 litres of milk and weighs about 40.5 kilograms on average, while Wikipedia gives 38 kilograms for a finished wheel. Different measurements, different moments, perhaps. We have not reconciled them.
How it is made
Wikipedia’s account of the process starts with morning whole milk mixed with naturally skimmed milk from the previous evening, heated in copper-lined vats. It says a starter is added at 33 to 35 degrees Celsius, then calf rennet, and that the curd sets for 10 to 12 minutes before it is broken into pieces about the size of rice grains. It says the temperature then rises to 55 degrees and the curd settles for 45 to 60 minutes. It says each vat, of 1,100 litres of milk, makes two wheels, and that the wheels sit in a brine bath for 20 to 25 days. That sits with the Consortium’s figure of 520 litres per wheel, since two wheels from 1,100 litres is 550 each, so the numbers are close but not identical. We have not seen the dairy rules.
Wikipedia says the wheels age on wooden shelves, and that each is cleaned and turned every seven days. It says at 12 months a master grader, called a battitore, taps each wheel with a hammer to listen for flaws, a process of about six or seven seconds. We are reporting the process as the article describes it.
A long history, with a legend in it
Wikipedia says legend places the cheese’s origins in the Middle Ages in Bibbiano, in the province of Reggio Emilia, that the earliest written documentation dates to 1254, and that Boccaccio praised it in the Decameron in 1348, imagining a mountain of grated Parmesan. A legend is not a record, and the article presents it as a legend.
Time
The minimum maturation is 12 months, per the Consortium and Wikipedia. The Consortium says the cheese reaches the maturity most suited to expressing its typical characteristics at around 24 months, and its FAQ says wheels often age 24 to 36 months or longer. Wikipedia says wheels typically age about two years on average.
The marks
The Consortium’s FAQ says authentic wheels carry origin marks stencilled on the rind, including the dairy identification number and the production date. It says wheels that pass inspection receive a fire-branded oval seal, and that second-category cheese, called Mezzano, shows parallel lines on the rind. The guidelines add dot-matrix lettering with the product name, an oval quality mark from the Consortium, and production month and year indicators.
Wikipedia says the Consortium, established in 1928, inspects every wheel at 12 months, that master graders tap the wheel with a hammer to detect interior flaws, that wheels are sorted into three quality tiers and that top-grade cheeses are heat-branded. We read those descriptions as consistent, and we have not seen the grading rules themselves.
The rind itself
The Consortium’s FAQ says the rind is natural and safe to eat, though cleaning it first removes impurities from the maturation environment. It also says the cheese is naturally lactose-free because lactose is converted to lactic acid in the first 48 hours. That is a claim from the trade body, and we are not giving dietary advice. Anyone with an intolerance should ask a professional.
What the marks cannot tell you
They cannot tell you which dairy’s cheese you prefer. They cannot tell you whether a cheese was cut and wrapped carefully. A wheel’s marks stay on the rind. Once a piece is cut and packed, the rind may be small or missing. If you buy a wedge, look for the piece of rind, and ask the seller for the dairy number and the months of ageing.
A short shopping list of questions
How old is the cheese, in months? Which dairy made it? Is the rind with the piece? When was it cut? Was it vacuum-packed, and when? The Consortium’s FAQ says vacuum-packed cheese typically lasts six months and should be kept at 4 to 8 degrees Celsius. Those are the Consortium’s storage figures.
We have not profiled any dairy, and we will not name one we cannot source. If you travel to the region, the Consortium’s FAQ says visitors can book guided dairy tours through its website. We have not checked availability.
Roam first. Shop later.
Emilia-Romagna food makers can find out what’s involved at /sell-with-sephari/