{"id":44663,"date":"2022-10-04T12:34:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T16:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=44663"},"modified":"2022-10-04T15:12:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T19:12:54","slug":"a-journey-through-italys-northern-cheese-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/a-journey-through-italys-northern-cheese-country\/","title":{"rendered":"A Journey Through Italy’s Northern Cheese Country"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the birthplace of pizza and pesto, Italy lays claim to some of the most well-known food in the world. Just like Italian cuisine, which varies widely from region to region\u2014think spaghetti alle vongole in Naples and spaghetti carbonara in Rome\u2014the same can be said for Italian cheese. There are more than 2,500 traditional kinds of cheese in Italy, over 50 of which carry the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) designation from the European Union, meaning they are uniquely tied to the area of production and cannot be made elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently traveled to Italy to learn about six PDO cheeses from the Emilia-Romagna and Veneto regions as a part of a program<\/a> to promote cheeses made using milk from the territory of origin. Over three days we toured four different cheesemaking operations and learned about the production methods and subtle nuances that differentiate these hard Italian cheeses from one another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first day started at Caesificio Quattro Madonne<\/a> in Modena where they produce Parmigiano Reggiano PDO<\/a>. We were guided through the facility and got to see the cheese at every stage, from the make room floor to the aging facility where it is tested for quality before being shipped out. Parmigiano Reggiano gained PDO status in 1996, but its origins date back over 900 years to Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries in the Parma and Reggio Emilia regions. Today there are 350 cheesemaking operations and 3,500 dairy farmers working to produce the nearly four million wheels made every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel Tip:<\/strong> If you’re traveling to Italy and want to learn about Parmigiano Reggiano PDO, bookmark Caesificio Quattro Madonne<\/a>. Their tours are open to the public with advanced registration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The make room at Caesificio Quattro Madonne.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The plastic belt that imprints Parmigiano Reggiano’s signature markings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Each wheel is tapped to ensure quality.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The sound each wheel makes varies depending on its age, if a wheel is deemed unfit to carry the Parmigiano Reggiano PDO seal it is stripped of its signature markings and fed to pigs or used in other products (like cheese cream).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Next, we traveled to Verona to see the Agriform aging and processing facility and learn about Grana Padano PDO<\/a>, the number one selling PDO cheese in the world. Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano are similar cheeses, but with a few key differences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n