Pasta deserves Parmigiano Reggiano
When asked “What should never be missing from your fridge?” the answer is often Parmesan. Why and if so, which Parmesan?
Pasta with parmesan makes happy
A good pasta dish caresses the soul. If parmesan is grated over it, the happiness is perfect. It’s always worth having a good piece of Parmesan cheese handy.
Parmesan cheese, produced from the raw milk of cows, is popular around the world and therefore big business.
To make sure your pasta lacks nothing, here are the most important facts about Parmesan.
Parmigiano Reggiano
Already in 1612, the Duke of Parma, Ranuccio I Farnese, realized that Parma cheese needed a certificate of origin and obtained it for the cheese “from Parma”.
Parmesan cheese was already produced in the Middle Ages in the monasteries of the Benedictines and Cistercians, to whom we owe many a delicacy such as the herbal liqueur Chartreuse.
The ducal heart charter was followed in 1934 by the merger of dairies from the regions of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, parts of Mantua and Bologna to form the Parmesan Consortium.
In 1996 the European recognition as PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) was achieved. Parmesan, like Champagne, has been able to successfully demonstrate that the characteristics of cheese production, and thus cheese quality, are tied to a specific place or region and are therefore worthy of protection.
Gran Pandano – the cheese with the bigger advertising budget
If you’re a similarly avid and frequent consumer of food-related magazines as GloriousMe, you couldn’t have missed the full-page ads for a cheese similar to Parmesan over the past decade: Gran Pandano.
At the latest in the supermarket, a poster of the Gran Pandano often smiles at you at the cheese counter, which, thanks to a large advertising investment and clever naming, has managed to be confused with the Parmesan or even regarded as a more noble variant.
After all, who knows the differences between these two cheeses, which at first glance seem very similar, but in taste and consistency have great differences.
The differences between Parmigiano Reggiano and Gran Pandano
Origin
While Parmesan may only be produced in the 5 regions designated in advance, Gran Padano can be produced in 33 Italian provinces.
Additives
Parmesan is made only from the basic ingredients of milk and casein. In the case of Gran Padano, the addition of a protein obtained from chicken egg white is allowed.
Feeding the cows
The Parmesan Consortium prescribes that the cows are fed only hay and grass, as opposed to silage, which can be used to feed the cows whose milk is used to produce Gran Pandano.
Age at maturity
Parmesan must be stored for at least 12 months before being sold as fresh Parmesan. The average maturity of Parmesan is 2 years and can be much higher.
Gran Pandano is taken from the cheese cellar from the age of 9 months and is consumed on average at 15 months.
Whey
For the production of Parmesan only natural whey is allowed. For Gran Padano, the whey can also be tuned in the laboratory.
Quality control
The Parmesan Consortium claims to subject each loaf of Parmesan to quality control after the aging period of 24 months. In the case of the Gran Pandano, the control is carried out only in random samples and already at the time of 9 months.
Eyes open when buying
Each loaf of Parmesan bears its origin on the cheese rind and also a control seal.
The control seal can be used in the database of the Parmesan Consortium to determine from which cheese dairy the respective Parmesan comes and how long it was allowed to ripen in the cheese cellar.
However, the seal can only be read on the complete cheese wheel and the designation of origin can only be seen on the cheese rind if the wheel has been cut open “correctly”.
With a small piece of Parmesan, shrink-wrapped in plastic or worse, already grated, lying on the supermarket shelf, the end customer hoping for real enjoyment has little chance of verifying provenance.
Compromise does not taste
There’s only one thing to do: buy your Parmesan from the cheese merchant you trust, who wants to keep you as a customer and is willing to answer your questions.
Just compare a piece of Parmesan that the dealer has cut fresh from the loaf: The cheese is crumbly, yet has a very slight moisture and a subtle delicate smell. This is how Parmesan must be.
After all, the fact that Öko-Tests repeatedly detects mineral oil in Parmesan may be due to long storage in plastic, not to mention sawdust and other non-toxic but tasteless fillers in pre-packaged, grated cheese.
Store the precious piece in wax
Our years of trying to store Parmesan wrapped in linen in the refrigerator in an exemplary manner to preserve fresh moisture have not had resounding success.
Despite high consumption, the cheese moldy from time to time. Our recommendation: the special waxed cheese paper from the cheese merchant. In it, the Parmesan feels at home.
Real Parmesan is precious, but not prohibitively expensive. Last year, Deutsche Bank even accepted the controlled cheese livers in the ripening cellar for the first time as collateral for a loan worth millions of euros to an Italian cheese producer.
Unless
They like their pasta only with fish or seafood. Then you can forget about all the subtleties of Parmesan.
In Italy and in many Italian restaurants there is a strict rule that in this case NEVER put Parmesan on the pasta.
The reason for our high parmesan consumption
Risotto
Just before the risotto is ready, we add another good dollop of butter and freshly grated Parmesan to achieve the famous Venetian wave “all onda”.
Salad
Almost any green salad, or salad with mushrooms go great with strips of pasta roughly shaved over them, giving the salad an extra umami kick.
Hungry from a long train or highway ride
Refrigerator on and cut off a few chunks of Parmesan. If sweetness is still desired, add a little honey.
In the thirty minutes it takes to unpack your luggage, charge your cell phones and check a few more emails, the cheese can warm up at room temperature and deliciously satisfy your cravings.
Filetto di Manzo
Very thinly sliced beef for short fry in the pan, along with a few cocktail tomatoes and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
Served on arugula salad with a vinaigrette and freshly shaved Parmesan on top.
Pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan is essential for the preparation of the delicious Pasta al Limone.
