My Italian Adventure: Parmigiano Reggiano Farm Tour

Jennifer Ferguson, RD
Jun 20
10 min read

Food was definitely one of the highlights of our visit to Italy. After all, the Italians are responsible for some of the most amazing foods, one of those being Parmesan cheese. Oh, the delight of Parmigiano Reggiano. In my adult life, I've enjoyed my fair share of this marvelous cheese. I'm here to tell you, after this day, I have an even greater appreciation of the joy that is Parmigiano!

You may not know, but my hubbie grew up on a dairy farm. I grew up on a hobby farm that had pigs, grain, vegetables and assorted 4-H animals over the years. The point being, we both come from agricultural backgrounds so we enjoy seeing the local agriculture scene when we travel. From the moment we arrived in Italy, agriculture was everywhere. We flew in over rice paddies, drove through vineyards and passed fields of hay being harvested. Hence, we were both really excited for today.

Our adventure today took us to a town called Castelfranco Emilia in the Emilia-Romagna region. We went on a Parmigiano Reggiano farm tour at a dairy that creates artisanal cheese from the milk produced by their own cows. On site. So cool.

Driving to this farm involved traveling through very scenic rural roads, complete with the oh so familiar 'eau du cow poop'! It's good to know that smells the same in any country! LOL. Another interesting, and I have to say, alarming fact is that the tractors on the roads are also the same size as the ones at home. The alarming part is that the roads in the rural areas were not!

Meeting cars was one thing, but when we saw this machine coming down the road, we decided we'd just pull over to let him have as much of the road as was needed! I'm glad we met him on a straight stretch and not a blind corner!

On arrival at the farm, we were met by A LOT of machinery. Some new, so not! After donning our fashionable coats and hats, we set off with our guide to see the magic of making Parmigiano Reggiano cheese!

Caseificio BIO Reggiani started as a small farm of 5 cows. Their herd now has 500 cows and their milk is the base for their cheese. We started our tour in a huge room with 12 copper vats. Each vat is filled with 1000 litres of milk (in addition to some rennet and whey) that will eventually result in 2 wheels of cheese.

Now, let's do some fast math: 12 vats x 1000 L. That's 12000 Litres of milk. So, every day, 22 to 24 wheels of cheese are made from the milk produced from 2 milkings (the last 24 hours, so the milk from the night before and the morning milking of the current day). The amount of milk may vary slightly from day to day, hence 22 to 24 wheels are produced each day. Wow.

An interesting factoid is that unlike dairy cows at home, these dairy cows do not eat any fermented feed. Part of the certification process in making Parmigiano Reggiano cheese states that feed must be produced within a specific geographic area and that no silage (which is fermented fodder, usually grass) is permitted. This organic farm has a zero-mile philosophy which means they keep it local. They produce their feed on the 8000 acres of grassland surrounding the farm. We saw huge stacks of hay bales in the area next to the dairy, not to mention some of the machinery that move those bales!

Curds and Whey

The aroma in this room was amazing. Warm milk with a tang is the best I can do to describe it. As we watched, the workers were splitting the curds in each vat into two pieces. Once split, they wrapped each curd in a piece of linen and hung it from a thick bar to allow the whey to drain from the vat and the curd. After the curds have drained, workers transfer the curds to the moulds.

The cheese mould is a pretty neat thing. It feels like a heavy plastic material and has a ton of markings on it. Some are the date the cheese is made; others show the producer. And, of course, the words Parmigiano Reggiano. Each form is wrapped into a round shape and held with a block and tackle-type rope assembly. They are all lined up on mobile tables just waiting to receive their curds.

Fun Fact

Each dairy has a unique identification number that is printed on each wheel of cheese, so you can trace your cheese to the farm it came from.

Each one of the curds being lifted into these forms weighs 110 lbs. Today, there were 24 forms being filled, so we watched the beginning of 24 wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano!

There is no top or bottom on the form but once the curd is placed in the form, there is a weight put on top of the curd to press out some of the remaining liquid. The Parmegiano stamp is imprinted on the curd at the end of the first day. The curd will stay in the form for 3 days and then it's onto the next stage in the process.

The Brine Tanks

After forming, the wheels are transferred into tanks filled with a salt water brine. At this farm, the wheels swim in the brine tank for 20 days. 230 wheels of cheese floated in the two brine tanks that were in front of us. The wheels rotate in the brine every 25 minutes, which makes sure the cheese is drying evenly. As the salt from the brine is absorbed into the cheese, the water is pushed out, hence the cheese starts the drying process! Pretty cool.

You can see on this wheel some of the markings: the date, the farm number and the dots spelling 'Parmigiano Reggiano' covering the outside of the curd. Eventually, this will be the familiar rind that we are used to seeing on a wheel of parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

From here, those wheels roll into the maturing room. Now, let me tell you, that was a breathtaking sight!!!

The Maturing Room

These shelves in this room currently hold 13000 wheels of cheese. Just stop for a moment there. 13000 wheels of the best cheese you can eat. I could have stayed here for quite some time! However, I may have been spotted, as my outfit didn't blend in very well!

At full capacity, this room holds 16000 wheels of cheese, in varying stages of aging. Our guide said it will be full in September, just in time for the holidays.

To be called Parmegiano Reggiano and receive an official stamp, the cheese must be aged for a minimum of 12 months. You can tell the age of the cheese by looking at the colour. The youngest cheeses are creamy white. The older they are, the more orangey the rind becomes.

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese in aging room.

As the cheese ages, mold grows on the outside and as the cheese dries, there will be salt and fat on the outside too, so the cheese has to be cleaned. Can you imagine cleaning 13000 wheels of cheese? I can't either and apparently neither could they, as they have this nifty machine that does that job for them. We didn't see it at work, but our guide explained the process for us.

The robot has brushes on each side. It slides each wheel off the shelf, brushes off the outer edges of the cheese, flips it over and puts it back on the shelf. That's a pretty efficient duster!

You remember I mentioned standards that the cheese must meet? There is quite a list, from the shape, dimensions, weight (each wheel must weigh at least 30 kg) and colour. The first quality check happens when the cheese is 12 months old.

There are inspectors from the Parmiagiano Reggiano Consortium who visit the farm three times per year to conduct quality inspections on every wheel of cheese. These experts use their ears and this little hammer to test each wheel. They listen for sounds which might indicate that the cheese has holes or tunnels inside, which is a defect. Any wheels that pass inspection are branded and are considered Parmigiano Reggiano. Any that do not pass the test have all marks removed. These wheels may receive another grade, but can not be sold as Parmigiano Reggiano DOP.

Our guide explained that this dairy produces cheese aged for 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 and 48 months. Not only does the colour on the outside of the cheese change, but so does the flavour and how the cheese should be used.

24 to 30 month old cheese is best served before a meal or grated on foods. Think enjoying an appetizer of cheese and fruit or grating cheese on your pasta.
36-40 month old Parmigianno is used for stuffed pastas, say ravioli or tortellini.
48 month old cheese is enjoyed with honey or jam or something that is sweet, say a nice wine! Sign me up!!!

The oldest wheel on our shelves was made in January 2016, so it is 112 months old and weighs 36 kg (79 lbs). And would you believe it doesn't taste like cheese? The older Parmigiano gets, the less it tastes like cheese. After 100 months, there is no cheese taste. It tastes like nuts or fruit.

As we headed out of the maturing room, we saw the workers cleaning the vats. When asked what happened to the whey that was drained from the vats, we learned that the farm uses the whey to make their own ricotta cheese.

Did you know?

Ricotta, in Italian means "recooked" or "reheated".

Mooove it on over.

The next stop on our tour was to see some of the dairy herd. They are in the yard right next to the production facility, and that is yet another part of the standards for this cheese, that the milk is produced within 2 hours of where it is processed. This farm has that covered - there are 10 metres between the milking parlours and the master cheesemaker!

A sidebar note: Although we did see the

cattle, due to biosecurity measures to keep

this herd safe, the tour did not take us close

to the cows. We saw them only from a

distance.

We learned from the owner that the farm has 500 head of cattle. The cows are 80% Italian Frisona (which are like the Holsteins at home) and 20% are other varieties plus 12 bulls. The owner has a small herd of White Modenese cows whose milk is used to make limited edition Parmigiano Reggiano. I must insert that we were speaking to the owner by ourselves, with no translator - she spoke minimal English and we spoke minimal Italian, but I think I captured this correctly!

It's 5 o'clock somewhere...

And then... onto what may have been the best part of the tour... the tasting room!!!!

We started with a taste of the fresh ricotta that was still warm. It was creamy and delicious. I tried it plain, but then we added honey to one and balsamic vinegar to the other. Oh MY!!! I can't decide which I liked best! At home, I've only used ricotta cheese as a filling for ravioli. I do often eat cottage cheese for breakfast or lunch. Although it's not quite the same, I think that warm cottage cheese with balsamic vinegar is worth trying!! Or better yet, buying ricotta cheese more often and having that for breakfast or lunch!

And then... the Parmigianno! Our guide brought out trays with 3 ages of cheese, 18, 36 and 48 months old. These are the most popular ages. I thought it was really neat to see the differences in colour! The younger cheese is visibly lighter in colour!

There is a specific knife used with Parmesan cheese. It breaks the cheese rather than cuts it. And I think it adds to the flavour to have these crumbled bits of cheese. It certainly adds to the texture experience in your mouth. We enjoyed the cheese plain, with balsamic vinegar, honey, fig jam, and some rather delightful rosé! Eating cheese and drinking wine before 10 am. I must have been on vacation!!!

My favourite was the 48 month old cheese. It had some bite to it and a richness that can't be beat. It was so flavourful. I can see why they say this is the one for the cheese board. When paired with the honey, it was just delicious. Peter's favourite was the 36 month cheese. When we checked out the shop, there were only really large pieces of the 48 month cheese, so sadly, they had to stay in Italy. However, into the going home bag went 18 and 36 month cheese wedges!

And for anyone who is wondering... An entire wheel of 18 month old cheese is 855 Euros, not to mention that it certainly wouldn't fit into my carry-on!

We finished our tour with a really neat conversation with the owner. It's amazing how much can be communicated with small words and hand gestures, plus a good translator app! She asked where we were from, and of course, we were happy to tell her we were from Canada. She took us to her visitor map and wanted to know where in Canada.

And wouldn't you know it, we were the first Nova Scotians to tour her farm. I think she liked us, since she gave me a heart to put on the map!

We left the farm full of really great cheese, a whole new appreciation of one of my favourite cheeses, some really great memories and one of the greatest and driest answers to a question I think I've ever heard. One of the other guests in the group asked a question about the Parmesan Cheese in other countries, specifically about the stuff in the shaker. His answer was very quick.

That is NOT Parmigianno Reggiano!

Incidentally, there are also specifications about how Parmigiano Reggiano must be cut, packaged and processed to maintain the ability to use the official name. What I got from the whole discussion: look for Parmigiano Reggiano and the official stamp to make sure you are getting the real deal. And trust me... if you don't already eat the real deal, once you do, you will never again do without! Or eat the stuff in the shaker! LOL.

And then we were off to our next stop, the Lamborghini Factory, which was about 20 minutes down the road from the dairy farm. And there we had another interesting experience in an exciting day: driving on a narrow country road, with the smell of cow poop in the air and seeing a manure spreader going in one direction and Lamborghinis out for a test drive in the other. Now that is a mind bender!!! Only in Italy!!!

If you have the chance, I'd highly recommend a tour of a Parmesan cheese dairy. It is an amazing experience to see a food made from start to finish. My next trip (cause yup there will be another!), I want to do a tasting where they pair foods with their cheeses. My mission this summer is to find an artisanal cheese facility at home and visit when they are making cheese. To see if I can get a tour! Suggestions are welcome!

Ciao for now! Jenn

Disclaimer: I receive no compensation from any person or business mentioned in this post.