True Parmigiano Reggiano is delightfully nutty and a far cry from the green can stuff. Italians eat this stuff by the kilo weekly. Its some of the first food given to babies there. It is hard to find the real deal here that is not been sitting for weeks or months, slowly drying out and losing flavor. Try getting some shipped from Italy from places like Parma Shop [https://www.parmashop.com/en/]. Even with shipping costs, the price per pound helps to offset the total cost. The difference in taste is stunning.
“...and has been crafted for over 900 years”
It’s a damn shame to see that cheese, my FAVORITE cheese, ending its near 1000 year run, all because of Universal Voting in the EU.
I love parmesan cheese. About 20 years ago when I was living in Europe on an expat assignment for Wally, I was working for their global sourcing department. As such, I had to go all over Europe and visit with Wal-Mart’s suppliers. One of the places I went was a parmesan cheese factory in Italy. If you’ve never smelled wet Parmesan....OMG!!! It smells just like puke. It was really hard not to gag when I was in the factory. The only smell anywhere near as bad was when I was in Vigo, Spain at a company that canned freshly caught fish. That absolutely reeked also.
The best cheese in the history of the world!!!!!
While I like a good Parm, my absolute favorite is Extra Sharp Provolone. BelGioiso makes a dandy.
I’m probably a heathen for saying this but I prefer the Wisconsin made Sartori Sarvecchio parm over Reggiano. It took is loaded with tyrosine.
The bacteria that makes it redolent of sweaty gym socks, is because …. it’s the same bacteria that makes sweaty gym socks
Bless you my cheesy child!
Wife loves her Parmigiano-Americano.
OTOH, I will stick with my Parm-Reg until I can’t cook any longer.
Sorry, they are NOT the same cheese. Check out the price per pound next time you’re in the Specialty Cheese department.
The main differences between parmesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano are their aging processes and how their ingredients are regulated.
***For a cheese to be classified as Parmigiano-Reggiano, it must come from particular regions of Italy and contain only certain approved ingredients. Parmigiano-Reggiano is also aged at least 1 year and up to 3 years. ****
Parmesan, on the other hand, is not regulated and may be aged as little as 10 months.
I prefer locateli pecorino Romano over parmigiana.
But as I got old i developed dairy allergies so i just drool over both.
“It’s some of the first food given to babies there.”
I BEGGED my parents to raise me in Italy the moment I came out of the womb! ;)