Parmesan cheese

When we speak of “Parmesan”, many mean the famous Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy. This hard cheese is known worldwide for its savory flavor, its crumbly yet firm structure and its intense aroma. It is made from cow's milk and ages for a long time so that it develops its particular character. Because it is so popular, you can find Parmesan today in almost every supermarket, at weekly markets and of course in delicatessens. But not every cheese called “Parmesan” is automatically the true Parmigiano Reggiano — and that is exactly where it gets interesting.

Origin and protection of the name
True Parmigiano Reggiano wheels come from a specific region in Italy: the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, parts of Bologna (west of the Reno river) and Mantua (south of the Po). This cheese carries the EU label PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). That means: only cheese produced there under strict rules and aged for a long time may call itself Parmigiano Reggiano. On the rind you often find small dots repeating the name “Parmigiano Reggiano”, as well as stamps with the month and year of production. This helps you recognize the original.

Why is Parmesan so widely available?
Its popularity in the kitchen — from pasta to salad, from risotto to soup — ensures that supermarkets offer the cheese in many forms. Large cheese traders regularly import whole wheels, cut them into pieces, pre-grate them or package them fresh. There are also, besides the original, similar hard cheeses from other regions that are cheaper and called “Parmesan” or “grating cheese”. In Europe it must, however, be clearly labeled whether it is Parmigiano Reggiano (PDO) or a generic Parmesan variant.

Important types and variants
There are different kinds and aging degrees you should know to find the right cheese:

Parmesan cheese, originally known as Parmigiano Reggiano, is an extra-hard, slowly aged hard cheese of Italian origin with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). It is traditionally made from raw cow's milk, rennet and salt. The product is renowned for its granular, crystalline texture, its high density of flavor-active amino acids and peptides and for a multilayered flavor profile of umami, nuttiness and salty sapidity. Its production and aging follow strict consortium standards that define microbiological quality, physicochemical parameters and sensory characteristics.

Raw material and microflora: The milk typically comes from local cattle breeds, is not standardized and is only partially skimmed. The native raw milk flora includes lactic acid bacterial communities, including thermophilic species such as Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus helveticus, which are favored by the thermal treatment in the copper vat. The autolysis of these cultures during aging releases enzymes that catalyze proteolysis and lipolysis, thus promoting the development of volatile aroma compounds (e.g. free fatty acids, aldehydes, ketones).

Manufacturing process and technological steps:
- Coagulation: After the addition of calf rennet a firm curd forms, which is cut extremely finely with special harps. The fine grain promotes the drying of the cheese mass and the development of the characteristic granular structure.
- Heating: The curd is heated under stirring to about 55 °C. This thermal stage selects thermoresistant starter cultures and reduces undesirable microbes.
- Pressing and salting: The cheese forms are bathed in brine (NaCl), which influences water activity (aw) and rind formation, creates diffusion gradients and controls the surface flora.
- Aging: Minimum maturation times are 12 months; premium qualities mature 24, 30 or 36 months and longer. During this phase pH (typically 5.2–5.4), moisture content and salt distribution stabilize