Parmesan cheese
Parmesan cheese is the name of an Italian extra-hard cheese made of raw cow's milk. The original Parmesan cheese is more precisely called Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is produced only in Italy, in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantua (partly) and Bologna (partly). It is usually the cheese to go with Spaghetti and other typical Italian pasta, but it also has many other uses. Parmesan is a part of Italian national cuisine and it can be eaten both grated and in slivers. It is hard, sharp and dry.
Parmigiano-Reggiano is DOP / AOC. This means that the way they are made and the region in Italy they come from are strictly controlled.
The brand (Parmigiano Reggiano) is protected, and only in Europe.[1] In many parts of the world, cheese is sold as Parmesan cheese that has nothing to do with the true (Italian) Parmigiano Reggiano.[2]
The original Parmesan cheese is one of the most expensive cheeses in the world.[3]
Name
Within the European Union, the term Parmesan may only be used, by law, to refer to Parmigiano-Reggiano itself, which must be made in a restricted geographic area, using stringently defined methods. In many areas outside Europe, the name "Parmesan" has become genericized: Any one of a number of hard Italian-style grating cheeses are called 'Patmesan'.[4][5] After the European ruling that "parmesan" could not be used as a generic name, Kraft renamed its grated cheese "Pamesello" in Europe.
One kind of cheese, which is very similar, but produced in another region in Italy, is Grana Padano. Grana Padano is produced in Lombardy,
Parmesan Cheese Media
The area in which Parmigiano Reggiano can be produced, according to EU and Italian PDO legislation
Parmesan Cheese Parmigiano-Reggiano
Copper-lined vats for the production of Parmigiano Reggiano
Cracking open a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
A Parmigiano Reggiano factory maturation room
Product process of Parmesan cheese
Official logo of Parmigiano Reggiano
Half a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese carved with a Parmesan knife and communal fork
Parmigiano Reggiano being taste-tested at a festival in Modena, with balsamic vinegar drizzled on top
Voice of America report showing production of the cheese and imitations using the name without authorization
References
- ↑ Case C-132/05 Commission v Germany Archived 2016-02-21 at the Wayback Machine European Commission Legal Service, July 2008
- ↑ Most Parmesan Cheeses in America Are Fake, Here's Why. November 19, 2012. https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/11/19/the-dark-side-of-parmesan-cheese-what-you-dont-know-might-hurt-you. Retrieved 2015-05-13. "... that it has earned the nickname in the dairy industry, 'The King of Cheeses.'".
- ↑ Romeo, Claudia. "Why parmesan cheese is so expensive". Insider. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
- ↑ Oxford Companion to Food, s.v. 'parmesan'
- ↑ Cox, James (9 September 2003). "What's in a name?". USA TODAY. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
Other websites
Media related to Parmesan cheese at Wikimedia Commons