The Italians are horrified by our usage of this, the world's most famous hard cheese. Here in the States, it is thought of as purely a grating cheese. The rest of the world savors Parmigiano Reggiano as a delicious, full flavored eating cheese. It began life seven centuries ago in the Italian provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, part of Bologna and part of Mantua. Nature blessed this zone with the most idealistic cattle grazing land to create the unique milk from the "Zone Tripica". The local cheese craftsmen took it from there, utilizing a totally natural process that has not changed for 700 years. No additives, no machinery, no gimmicks. Just sweet, fresh milk in its pristine state; the artisan's ancient skills and then nature's own good time (aged from 18 to 36 months). What you see today is just what the knights, serfs, saints and kings of old ate! Parmigiano Reggiano DOP is made from raw cow's milk. The whole milk of the morning milking is mixed with the naturally skimmed milk of the previous evening's milking, resulting in a part skim mixture. Traditionally, cows have to be fed only on grass or hay, producing grass fed milk. The only additive allowed is salt, which the cheese absorbs while being submerged for 20 days in brine tanks saturated to near total salinity with Mediterranean sea salt. The product is aged an average of two years. The cheese is produced daily, and it can show a natural variability. True Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese has a sharp, complex fruity, nutty taste and a slightly gritty texture.
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