Parma

Well here we are finally in the big cheese of cheeses in Parma! Ok so some may know Parma for its famous brand of air cured hams but for me this is just a nice extra next to the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese that is made in these whereabouts. Otherwise known to most people as Parmesan cheese but that mearly indicates the style of cheese.

Parmigano-Reggiano logo vigorously defines this brand

The Parmigiano-Reggiano is the original cheese of this style and a very strict set of cheese making methods must be adhered to. Most importantly is the regional basin where the cows must graze. This extends right down to the coast near San Marino and was once covered by the sea and is fed by alpine rivers. This along with a mix of skimmed afternoon milk and full morning milk that is never pasteurised helps to make this unique cheese.

We made sure that we were able to make it to the 8am start for the guided tour of a nearby Parmigiano-Reggiano factory. The tour took us through the whole process from receiving the fresh milk through to placing the cheese in the mould. Amazingly the whole process only takes two hours, but after that it needs to be aged for at least 12 months before being able to be sold.

After the rennet is added the cheese starts separating from the whey

Adding the fresh morning milk, that's the good stuff just ask any mum!

Separating the congelled cheese

Once the cheese gets to just the 'right' consistency it's allowed to settle to the bottom

This cheese house has just 12 vats, each makes 2 cheeses. that's 24 a day. Just about enough for me?

Freeing the settled cheese from the vat

100 kilos in each big cheese

Molding in its first stage mould

Eeeuw!!! Getting a bit stinky in here

The day being Thursday also means that it's Ricotta day, with the soft cheese being made from the leftover whey... OK, so it's a tradition that goes back centuries but one that's not enjoyed very much by the cheese makers.

The loathed task of making the Thursday batch of ricotta

Bathing in salt baths, which act as a natural preservative

The stencil used in the secondary mould to identify the cheese, nothing but cheese is used

Hmmm, the cheese aging warehouse

Mine all mine! OK, a whole new meaning to having cheese dreams??

Gratuitious pack shot :-)

The finished product ready to be gobbled up!

Luckily that the ban on importing unpasteurised cheeses to NZ has finally been lifted and next time we won't have to go so far to get our supplies!