A Lesson on Parmigiano Reggiano: Day 2

then, naturally, after seeing where the milk comes from, it is obligatory to go see how the milk turns into cheese. so early in the morning, we departed for the cheesemaker "Caseificio San Salvatore" in Colorno to see the cheese production process. 

part skim evening milk and whole morning milk mixed together before 6 am___the yellowy colour is whey and is the starter mixture, high in acidity, it is full of natural bacterias___the quantity and quality of the milk recieved is never the same so the producer must determind the whey amount___the cauldrons have double walls (the tempertaure the same so that milk is uniform - around 36 degrees) that go deep into the ground and are just high enough for the cheesemaker to reach in to stir___animal rennet is added to the liquid. rennet is the stomach lining and they take it when cows are slaughtered, then it is washed, dried and chopped into a powder and preserved with sea salt___2 drops of rennet per 100l milk which is usually about 20-24 drops___the cheesemaker knows the exact time to add the rennet (8:05am). he is like a chef and has to understand the milk itself and the entire process - he even knows which farms' milk and type of cow milks that can be mixed together___the rennet causes the milk to coagulate and changes the structure of the liquid into a jelly-like one - 12 minutes later curds appear___copper cauldrons are the tradition and it is the best heat conducter after silver so that the curd doesn't stick to the wall as it acts as a repellent through chemical reactions___the quality of cheese could change within seconds but the cheesemakers know by touch___there are different tools used for the separation of the curds___the rising temps allow the faster mixing because the molecur links are stronger___the colours change from yellow (the whey) to white (the cheese/protein) but a certain amount of whey must remain in the curd otherwise it will turn to stone during the aging process___when the final temp (54-55 degrees) is reached, the whey is on top and the curds have sunk to the bottom of the cauldron - then wait one hour until it is cool. the whey will weigh down on the curds___the cauldrons are washed just with water as solvents are not allowed___the cheese is wrapped in cloth and put into moulds - the wrap is changed 3x's a day and the cheese is fipped so that the liquid is drained___it then goes into the salted brine - up to 30 days depending on the size and turned upside down every day. the fat comes out the salt goes in, causing a natural rind to form___the natural osmosis takes about 9 months___by 9:48 the work is done and it is time to just clean up

8:14:44am - they time it to the second.

can also tell when its ready by the touch. the curds form on top then settle to the bottom.

while we wait for the curds to settle to the bottom of the vats and the liquids to cool, we go see the cheese wheels in the salt baths.

watch the magic. 

then they drain the liquid from the cheese and the whey is vacuumed out.

go into buckets to be marked.

next, we visited the Consozio Agrario Parma, which is basically a huge storage facility where the large wheels of parmigiano reggiano sit in long corridors to age properly under the correct temperature and humidity conditions.

there is a machine goes down each aisle that turns each wheel of cheese as well as dusts it___when cheese is wet to the touch it is called "sweating"___they have to also check the quality of the cheeses.  mezzano, the second grade parmigiano reggiano cannot last a second summer if the problem is with the milk, but if the problem came from thet structure, it can continue to be aged___the quality is perceived by tapping the wheel to determine if the problem is with the milk or can be determined by the structure because outside forms/damages will be seen____mountain milk is considered to be better quality so more expensive___wheels lose about 5% weight every year___prices fluctuate___bad cheese smell dusty.

of course throughout the course of the day we had lots of cheese to eat. 

(and this is just what i took pictures of...)

milky squeaky curd.

raw parmigiano reggiano

parmigiano reggiano in the aging facility. 

a bunch of small hor d'oeuvres for lunch.

and pasta of course. 

and again at the packaging facility. maybe it's jamie oliver's. maybe it's organic. maybe it's shipped to a chain store in england. maybe all the cheese is exactly the same. 

the last visit in our parmigiano reggiano stage was to the packaging center in Parma called Gennari. 

they collect the cheese for packaging___jamie oliver newest client___some parm reg is fixed weight or cut and otehrs are packaged ___pay for the label or the plastic tray____bio packaging is more expensive than the cheese___blocks are more expensive than triangle cuts b/c there is more waste because cut out the "heart" of the cheese wheel

the cheese wheel gets cut into equal layers.

the heart is cut out.

the cheese layer is sliced.

perfectly cut slices.

falls apart into the bucket, ready for packaging.

into the trays to be labeled and sealed.