Parmigiano Reggiano PDO - Red Cows 24 Months

Parmigiano Reggiano PDO is a hard cheese, cooked and not pressed, produced with raw cow’s milk obtained from animals raised in the production area, mainly fed with local fodder.

The milk of the Red Cows of Reggiana breed has some qualitative characteristics that differentiate it from the traditional Parmigiano Reggiano. The Red produces a third less milk than the Frisona breed, but has a higher yield in cheese making. In particular, in the milk of Red Cows there is a variant of Casein, the fundamental protein of the process of transformation of milk into cheese, which guarantees a better predisposition of the cheese to long maturation, resulting in better digestibility.

The feed consists only of grass, hay and feed certified no GMO, absolute prohibition of any food technique that serves to force production, maximum attention to animal welfare. This is why in the stables of the Red Cows we still find animals that quietly exceed 10 years of age, which is very rare for other types of breeding.

The production area of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO includes the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna to the left of the Reno river, in the Emilia-Romagna region.

In this case we are in the province of Reggio Emilia.

For the production we use milk from the evening milking, which remains resting in steel tanks throughout the night. After being partially skimmed, the evening milk is poured together with that of the morning, in the characteristic copper boiler in the shape of an inverted bell, without the addition of any additive. The natural grafting serum is then added and heated to 33 ºC. Once the temperature is reached, the calf rennet obtained from the stomach of suckling calves is added until coagulation takes 10-15 minutes. The curd is broken into small granules and then begins the cooking phase until 55 ºC. The mass obtained after cooking and the falling of the granules is raised and cut in two; each mass is wrapped in a linen cloth and inserted in a wooden or teflon mold. Here it takes its characteristic shape and receives a casein plate, embedded on the surface of the crust that, thanks to an alphanumeric code, uniquely identifies each individual shape. This is followed by the marking with the fascera marchiante, which imprints on the crust: the dotted inscription "PARMIGIANO REGGIANO", the dairy’s serial number, month and year of production. The next step is salting, which takes place by immersing the form for 16-20 days in a saturated solution of natural salt, then maturing on wooden boards in rooms suitable for controlled temperature and humidity, which lasts from a minimum of 12 months to over two years. Only the shapes that exceed a very strict selection are marked with the oval fire mark at the age of 12 months.

The origins of Parmigiano Reggiano PDO date back to the Middle Ages, thanks to the work of the Benedictine and Cistercian monks of the Po Valley who, between the Apennines and the right bank of the Po, reclaimed the marshes and cultivated the pastures necessary to feed the cows. The method of processing Parmigiano Reggiano PDO is basically the same as nine centuries ago and uses the same essential ingredients (milk, rennet and salt), without any additives or preservatives.

Characteristics

The Parmigiano Reggiano PDO Vacche Rosse 24 months that we propose presents a straw yellow paste of light intensity, with a fairly crumbly and grainy consistency; ensures a delicate but persistent scent, of medium complexity but quite aromatic, thanks to its seasoning.

Pairings

Parmiggiano Reggiano PDO 24 Mesi di stagionatura is great for enriching salads, to be combined with salami typical of Emilia-Romagna, to be grated on dry pasta, broth soups, soups and first courses of the Emilia-Romagna tradition. Perfect also in flakes over seconds of beef, such as cut, carpaccio and roast beef. Immortal with honey not too sweet, fruit compotes, traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena or Reggio Emilia and nuts such as nuts and hazelnuts or dried figs.