In the mist, in a flat land of fields of forages grown for feeding cows, in a small town in the Bolognese countryside called San Giovanni in Persiceto lies one of the real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese productions. My uncle’s one. This is where I was born, where I can find my roots. I can tell you about smells, colors, habits and traditions…
Parmigiano Reggiano is not only a cheese, it is the story of the hard work and sacrifices of many people , in this case of a whole family, that started in the fifties with my grandfather Enea Caretti. From more than 60 years, every single day, early in the morning, my family has made and continue to make Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Everything begins from the fields , from the forage for cows . There are restricted rules for the feeding of the cattle. Parmigiano Reggiano is a whole natural product, no additives or preservatives are added, that’s why the milk must respect determined parameters and cows must not eat fermented or silage forage.
In the dairy the master cheese maker is like a Chef in a kitchen, he knows exactly what to do and when, in a fascinating dance between cauldrons and milk. The most amazing thing is seeing the cheese maker taking out from the cauldrons, with deft movements, a one hundred kilos mass of fresh cheese and hanging it , in a special cloth to drain.
There are many passages that a wheel of cheese has to do before to rest quietly in the maturation room.
One of them is the salting process, made by absorption in salt-saturated solution.
The smell and the impressive sight that visitors have entering the maturation room is unique. I always say that it’s like a cathedral ….the Cathedral of Parmigiano Reggiano . Long rows of wheels of cheese from the pale yellow to the dark yellow sleeping in silence to become one of the best cheese of the world.
