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APR. MAY 2016
IX
AT PAGE 24
To each one his
own Parmigiano
Reggiano
Valuing the different souls that
make up the production structure
of this traditional cheese can also
switch from catering: Identity
with Parmigiano Reggiano, the
Consortium has the richness of
a chain rooted for centuries in the
territory of Emilia
by Pietro Cinti
There isn’t just one kind of
Parmigiano Reggiano, but the dairy
masterpiece as we know it is the
result of the union of many identities,
so many ways of interpreting (even
in hard furrow to the specification
of the DOP) this cheese, a tradition
that has taken root and stratified over
the centuries (the first traces of cow’s
cheese production in val d’Enza,
between Parma and Reggio Emilia
date back to the tenth century).
Thus, the 350 producers scattered
in the area of origin (the provinces
of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena
and small portions of Mantova
and Bologna) achieve more than 3
million forms a year, about 68% sold
on the domestic market and 32%
exported, infusing a large amount
of manual work, daily and putting
cheese in their own experience, their
own values, what is learned in the
family or the local area. Because, to
paraphrase a successful advertising
slogan coined a few years ago, the
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is not
just manufactured, alluding to the
industrialization of the process, but it
does, as are the cheese makers have
done for centuries.
IDENTITY VS MASSIFICATION.
“At a time when the massification,
even food, is a serious danger -
declares Riccardo Deserto, director
of the Consortium of Parmigiano
Reggiano- that draws in scenarios
where there is no longer a link
between land, human knowledge and
products that end up on the table ,
recover their identity is a process that
tends to excellence. For us, it means
making the hard and dark work of
many manufacturers, their stories,
and their focus on quality. ”
With this purpose the Consortium of
Parmigiano Reggiano organized at
the Labyrinth of Masone Fontanellato
(Pr), the largest in Europe made by
the publisher and art collector from
Parma, Franco Maria Ricci, a meeting
between the various actors in the
chain, gathering representatives of
30 dairies that are distinguished by
their particular production policies.
By organic dairies to that kosher,
by those who use milk from ancient
breeds (brown in Parma; red in
Reggio Emilia; white in Modena)
who is aged over 100 months, a
mosaic that hinted that behind the
unified brand there is a richness to
production that few other protected
foodstuffs can boast.
ADOPT A DAIRY.
“We have the
clear desire - Mr Deserto keeps
explaining - continues to evolve
the traditional figure of the cheese
maker in a chain operator can speak
directly with the chefs, for example.
In periods where the customer of
a level restaurant wants to know
the origin of raw materials, have
the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
by this or that means relying on a
product that has a flavor profile and
peculiar sensory and that can tell a
story in some secular cases, element
much appreciated by consumers in
Italy and abroad. I think ‘taking a
dairy farm’ by a restaurant is more
attention to the customer who knows
more about what you’re eating,
but also a distinct possibility for
the dairies paid to see their work,
especially in an economic climate
in which the prices of Parmigiano
Reggiano undergo tensions to the
bottom.”
TRADITION IN EVOLUTION.
Between guests dairies in the
Parmigiano Reggiano Identity, the
Zocca Modena Dairy, in business
since 1966 which transforms milk
from heads of Modenese White, a
traditional race today limited to a few
hundred units divided into twenty
small farms. The peculiarity of this
raw material is the wealth of k-casein,
a protein that makes Parmigiano
Reggiano suitable for a long
maturation period. In contrast, the
Dairy Bertinelli, in Parma, pushing on
the pedal innovation and produced
the first Parmigiano-Reggiano Kosher,
which has aroused great interest
especially in international markets.
In business since 1959, the Dairy
Sant’Anna di Anzola dell’Emilia (Bo)
from the ‘90s produces Parmigiano
Reggiano Bio, starting from their
fodder in a “closed loop”, or the dairy
Scalabrini from 1940 to Ghiardo of
Bibbiano (Re) producing red cows
Parmigiano from Reggio Emilia
and draws electricity from two
photovoltaic plants for a total of
120 Kw / h. Because respecting the
tradition is not just ape the past, but
look to the future while holding the
values of the bar and the product
quality.
Three “stickers” to choose well
Editing curing characteristics of
Parmigiano Reggiano, its texture and
sensory surrender. The Consortium
has created three stamps that go to
connote a young cheese, one old and
one very old.
Lobster
characterizes Parmigiano
Reggiano with a greater maturing 18
months, that is a cheese that shows
prevailing lactic notes, delicate
vegetal notes and a fairly soft dough.
Serving suggestions: Ideal cut into
cubes for a cocktail, preferably to
match with dry white wines and
matched with fresh fruit such as
pears and green apples.
Silver
maturing over 22 months
and a flavor profile more complex,
structured on notes of fresh fruit and
dried fruit hints.
Serving suggestions: Perfect with
fairly structured red wines. Great if
presented cut into petals in fruit salad
seasoned with balsamic vinegar from
Modena or Reggio Emilia. Perfect