A good plate of spaghetti with a steaming sauce of fresh tomatoes and a few basil leaves. And a sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano, which closes the flavors and releases that typical aroma that smells of home and family. Parmigiano Reggiano represents one of the excellent products of the Italian gastronomic panorama. It brings with it the memory of tradition and seals the symbolic image that the tables of the Bel Paese have throughout the world.
From the Middle Ages to today: an ancient and modern history
Parmigiano Reggiano is a gift from the earth, which finds its origins in a centuries-long past, through the fields of Parma and Reggio. A story that begins between monasteries and castles, between the milk of the Reggiana Rossa, the breed of cows traditionally used for the production of Parmigiano, and the work of men in the shadow of the dairies.
Traces of the existence of Parmigiano Reggiano can already be found in some documents from the 1200s, where the marketing of a Parma cheese was witnessed. And even Giovanni Boccaccio inserts references to a in the verses of his Decameron grated Parmesan cheese, which made up a dish of "macaroni and ravioli". It was 1344 and since then the rounded shapes scented with rennet and salt have never stopped being part of the Italian culinary tradition. In the 1612 the Duke of Parma signed an act which introduced, for the first time in history, the denomination of origin of Parmigiano and, shortly before the Second World War, its name was made official, together with the boundaries of the territories of its production.
Milking, maturing and branding. The preparation phases for a PDO product
The production process that transforms milk into Parmigiano Reggiano is long and elaborate. All phases require times and procedures with attention to detail and harmonized with each other so that that unmistakable, artisanal taste can be obtained. The milking of the cows, fed with a totally natural method, for example, must be done in the evening and the milk must be left to rest in large tanks in which the process necessary to divide the fat part from the lean part is activated. They are added later rennet and lactic ferments, which will give shape to a mass fragmented into millions of small granules, finally cooked in a particular oven at high temperatures.
It will be the expert hands of the cheesemaker who will give the mass the typical shape of Parmigiano Reggiano as it is known and who will immerse it in a solution of water and salt, after having applied a casein plaque all around showing the production data, a real own Parmesan identity card. The last phase, the slowest, is that of seasoning, during which all the wheels are left to rest on wooden boards for at least twelve months, waiting to be examined by experts, who will promote the most suitable ones, with the famous branding.
From the earth to the tables
Parmigiano Reggiano is a food with high nutritional properties. Rich in soccer and of phosphorus, is ideal for a balanced diet of both children and adults, as it is also lactose-free. Its use in the kitchen is varied and can be consumed alone, but also combined with other ingredients, because it enhances the flavors of vegetables, soups and meats. But not only. Parmigiano Reggiano, if aged for 24 months or more, is also excellent if accompanied by balsamic vinegar or dried fruit such as walnuts or plums. In Osteria kitchens we love to use Parmesan both to taste it naturally (in the our cheese shop could not be missing) than by using it in some of the recipes on our menus, such as in ours classic meatballs with sauce or in spinach, butter and parmesan.
English 
Italiano 