Emilia-Romagna is known in the world mainly for motors and food.
In this article, I will not talk about motors: I will talk about good Emilia-Romagna food.
My city, Parma, has seen the birth of some of the most important food-related brands, such as Barilla, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Prosciutto di Parma.
The reasons I wanted to write this article are twofold, the first was my personal discovery that there is Parmigiano Reggiano from the mountains, which is different from the better-known and well-known Parmigiano Reggiano brand, the “brother” from the plains; the second was that as I traveled for work and vacation around the world I was able to see that there are many fakes of Parmigiano Reggiano, called Parmesan or Parmesan Cheese, which leverage Italian sounding but have nothing to do with the fragrances and flavors of the original Parmigiano Reggiano.
Parmigiano Reggiano has very ancient origins: it is said that in the Middle Ages Benedictine monks produced something similar, needing to find a way to make the cheese last as long as possible; but the first documented historical evidence of commercialization is from the 1200s with a notarial deed mentioning “caseus parmensis.”
The Parmigiano Reggiano brand as a mountain product has much more recent origins: in fact, it is in a 2013 decree with EU Regulation 1151/12 that the words “Mountain Product” appear to classify food products originating in mountain areas of the European Union.
The birth of this brand had the primary purpose of encouraging people to live in the rural areas of the Apennines, to preserve and care for the land and try to enhance the work of artisans and farmers in the mountain areas facing the Po Valley, in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and Bologna.
Raising livestock and harvesting fodder in the mountains is more strenuous and costly than in the plains, and producers who already produced cheese in the past were struggling economically when compared with farmers and cheesemakers in the plains; in fact, by creating the brand, it was possible to enhance the real differences that exist in mountain versus plains products. The microclimate, with considerable temperature ranges, which affects the cheese maturing phases and the different types of fodder that grows at high altitudes, combined with the skills of some cheesemakers, give rise to a very different product than its “brother” from the plains, producing a unique and exceptional product.
To bear the stylized blue mark with the two mountains Quality Project “mountain product,” the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium and producers must adhere to the consortium’s strict rules:
– the farms of producers of milk intended to be processed into cheese that later becomes “Parmigiano Reggiano Mountain product” must be within mountain areas;
– in the feed of dairy cattle that is processed into cheese that is likely to become “Parmigiano Reggiano Mountain product”, 60% of the dry matter, on an annual basis, of the feed must come from mountain areas;
– the production facilities of dairies processing cheese suitable to become “Parmigiano Reggiano Mountain product” must be in mountain areas;
– each stage relating to milk eligible under the previous points for production into cheese fit to become “Parmigiano Reggiano mountain product” (milk collection, introduction into the dairy, overnight rest in the vats, processing in the boiler and any other stage allowed by the specifications) is carried out separately and independently from milk unfit for processing into cheese fit to become “Parmigiano Reggiano mountain product”, with an entry in the “Production Register”;
– the minimum maturation (12 months) of the cheese wheel suitable to become a “Parmigiano Reggiano mountain product” occurs in establishments within the mountain areas.
Consider that there are currently only 110 dairies that can bear the label.
In fact, unfortunately, the number of wheels produced is very small.
In the specific sections of the site, other articles and/or videos will describe a journey to discover the reality behind the production of a particular quality of Parmigiano Reggiano, which came into the limelight relatively a few years ago; and thanks to its unique characteristics and the skill of some cheesemakers, the product itself has managed to bring prestige to small artisanal realities and to make some mountain communities in the Apennines prosper.