It is a historic product, an excellence and a symbol of Italian food culture. Parmigiano Reggiano brings to the table the flavours of its place of origin — a territory that seems large when viewed from within Italy, yet is extremely small and specific when seen from a global perspective.
It is the most well-known (and imitated) Italian cheese in the world. For over 800 years, Parmigiano Reggiano has been made with raw cow's milk, without any additives, and with an ageing period of at least one year. On the occasion of Cheese 2017, an edition dedicated precisely to raw milk, we interviewed the director of the Consorzio del Parmigiano Reggiano, Riccardo Deserti.
This edition of Cheese is dedicated to raw-milk cheeses, which in some countries are periodically at the centre of controversy from those who believe they should only be made with pasteurised milk, on the grounds that they might otherwise pose hygiene and health risks. And yet, as Carlo Petrini reminded us, Parmigiano Reggiano has been made this way for many centuries. Have you ever experienced problems in this regard?
In Italy, no, because we have an expertise passed down from generation to generation that teaches us there is no problem whatsoever if the cheese is aged. In the United States there is the industrial cheese lobby, which has an interest in evoking supposed risks linked to raw milk. For this reason, I believe the work done over the years by Cheese is truly very important — especially in this edition, in which the partner country is precisely the United States.
There too there are small artisan producers of raw-milk cheeses, and the aim is to make American consumers understand that these pose no health risk if traditional and correct production methods are followed. In this way, Italian producers who export their quality cheeses to the USA — cheeses tied to their territory and made without added cultures — also benefit.
The threat periodically raised in the United States (though phenomena of this kind could then spread to other markets as well) is that of introducing bans on raw-milk cheeses on grounds of supposed risks to human health. Something that the millennia-old tradition of our product, and of so many other Italian and European excellences, proves to be a non-issue.
I would point out, in fact, that ageing beyond sixty days eliminates any risk for the consumer, and even in the case of very fresh cheeses there would be no serious health risks to speak of. In the case of Parmigiano Reggiano, the minimum ageing period is 12 months, but on average it is 24 months and beyond.
Remind us where Parmigiano Reggiano is produced.
The territory encompasses the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia and Modena in their entirety; and I would stress that it includes both a lowland and a mountain component. There is also a part of the province of Bologna (the area to the left of the Reno river) and a part of the province of Mantova (to the right of the Po). This is the territory — large when viewed from within Italy, yet extremely small and specific when seen from a global perspective.
And what are the characteristics that distinguish Parmigiano Reggiano from "similar" cheeses?
The distinguishing features are: the use of raw milk and the fact that no chemical additives may be used in the fermentation process. This is because the cows may eat only hay and grass (supplemented with feed that balances the intake of the various nutrients in the diet — ed.), meaning that silage fodder is prohibited, since the spore contamination that occurs during fermentation would otherwise require the use of industrial techniques or the addition of additives to counteract abnormal fermentation.
And as regards organoleptic characteristics, how do the various types of Parmigiano Reggiano differ from one another?
It is precisely the differences that make it unique. We cannot make a judgement in advance and say which is the best. There are many. We invite consumers who perhaps know Parmigiano Reggiano only from a particular ageing stage, or from a specific dairy, or from a certain area (mountain or lowland, from Parma or the Bologna area…) to try others as well.
It is clear that with a longer ageing period you achieve aromas and flavour intensities that are far more pronounced. Young cheeses are markedly sweeter and have more milky aromas. It is difficult to classify it in a single, definitive way. The best is whichever you enjoy most depending on the use you make of it (as a filling, as a table cheese, in shavings…).
Are there organic producers within the Consorzio del Parmigiano Reggiano?
Organic production is one of the significant trends. Out of an annual production of 3,500,000 wheels, we are approaching one hundred thousand organic wheels. On the face of it that may seem little, since we are talking about 3 per cent, but in absolute terms one hundred thousand wheels of Parmigiano, with all the milk required, represent figures already far greater than those of several Italian PDOs. This demonstrates the importance of a phenomenon that is growing, driven largely by overseas markets.
What did you present at Cheese 2017?
Eight dairies are present here. For us this is an important stage on which each one comes to tell its own story; because it is important to communicate the differences that exist within the cheese: the skill and work of the cheesemakers and the farmers who sustain this supply chain are part of understanding the uniqueness of the product. And all 330 dairies in the Consorzio del Parmigiano Reggiano work on an artisan basis.
