Last Updated on March 26, 2026
Time, Terroir and Tradition make this the Real Deal
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Italy produces any number of foods that simply can’t be made anywhere else. Parmigiano-Reggiano is a great example – an Italian hard cheese that we all know. Renowned worldwide for its rich flavour, hard texture, and versatility, the production of Parmigiano-Reggiano follows a centuries-old tradition, ensuring that each wheel meets the highest quality standards. Parmigiano-Reggiano is PDO – “Protected Designation of Origin” — status, the name cannot be used outside of the designated region, and the cheese itself has to conform to specific production methods and standards.
To learn more, I travelled to Emilia-Romagna and visited a traditional dairy and artisan cheese producer, Antica Fattoria Caseifico Scalabrini, where they’ve been making authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano since the 1940s.
This cheese can only be made with milk from cows that graze on fresh grass or hay from the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna (west of the Reno River), and Mantua (east of the Po River). Scalabrini have their own herd of Frisian cows, carefully managed to maximise milk yield while still complying with the strict regulations on feeding and husbandry. The cows are milked twice a day, and Parmigiano-Reggiano is made with a mixture of evening milk, which stands overnight and is then skimmed before fresh morning milk is added.
With the milk in large copper vats heated carefully using steam, a natural whey starter left over from the previous day’s cheese-making is added to the milk. The lactic acid makes the milk thicken a bit like yoghurt. Then, calf rennet is added. That means true Parmigiano-Reggiano is never vegetarian or vegan – but curiously, it IS suitable for most people who are lactose intolerant because the process of making the cheese destroys the lactose.
The enzymes in the rennet start to curdle the milk, turning it into a grainy ricotta-like substance, the cheese makers checking continuously to work out when to move on. The curd is cut into granules about the size of a grain of rice using a spino – a kind of large whisk and heated to around 55 °C while being stirred continuously. The mixture firms up and drops to the bottom of the vat for around an hour.
The solid mass is wrapped in a muslin cloth to lift it out of the vat. The curd is divided into two equal parts, each forming a separate wheel of cheese.
These curds are drained a little in their muslin wraps, then the whole thing is lifted out, placed in special cylindrical moulds and left to drain naturally.
Once the initial shaping has taken place, the muslin is removed, and the cheese is placed in new moulds lined with a flexible template to mark the age and origin of the cheese. A weight is placed on top to push out more whey and help shape the cheese.
After a few days, the cheese is immersed in brine for around 20 days – a process that starts the rind developing and is crucial to the final flavour.
The next stage involves ageing the cheese for a minimum of 12 months. The wheels with their distinctive ‘tattoos’ are transferred to ageing rooms and stored on wooden shelves stacked up to the roof. This process is essential to develop the characteristic flavour and texture of Parmigiano-Reggiano. The wheels are regularly turned and brushed to remove rind, and the temperature and humidity of the ageing room are carefully controlled.
During this period, the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano, the governing body that oversees the production of Parmigiano-Reggiano, conducts strict quality control checks. Each wheel is inspected by a professional grader who uses a special hammer to tap the cheese and listen for any defects.
The hammers are rare and passed down as a mark of recognition – and the test, which involves turning each wheel round as you tap, highlights any defects – air in the cheese, etc. If they meet the right standard, the wheels are branded with the Parmigiano-Reggiano mark. Any that fail are carefully stripped of the markings. They are still used, but the cheese can’t be sold as Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Now, Parmigiano-Reggiano is usually sold at 12, 24 or 36 months of ageing. Each stage of ageing produces subtle nuances to the cheese, and the younger Parmigiano is perfect to eat with salads, shaved over fresh vegetables, or to help flavour gratins. It’s also lovely with grapes and apples. Older Parmigiano works well with dried fruits, figs and nuts – I wouldn’t use it for cooking because I think it would be wasted.
But what would you pair with a really well-aged Parmigiano Reggiano? At 12 years old, we were offered a unique opportunity to try something very special when we visited the Consortium the next day. It’s such a rare thing that we were warned that there was no way of knowing whether it would be wonderful or just passable – after all, Parmigiano Reggiano is nothing more than milk, rennet and salt – so only the very finest cheeses can be aged for this length of time.
The rich, nutty notes were punctuated by a grainy, salty texture from the tyrosine, which appears during the ageing process when the proteins in the curd are broken down. To pair with it, our hosts at the Consortium provided a delicious local red vermouth with fresh, herbaceous notes – the perfect complement.
While tasting a 12-year-old Parmigiano is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I was also fascinated by the replica artisan cheese house that sits just outside the consortium, with its copper vat suspended over a wood fire. I learnt that from time to time they use it to make Parmigiano-Reggiano using the methods that have been handed down for around a thousand years.
A fascinating insight into Parmigiano-Reggiano, one that reinforces everything I’ve learnt about food in Italy. From Parmesan to Pesto, from Pasta to Risotto, Italy is a country that takes its traditional food seriously and is all the better for that.
With many thanks to the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium and to Antica Fattoria Caseifico Scalabrini for hosting us on this trip
