[1] Checking the quality of an aging wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano (all photos ©
Parmigiano-Reggiano Consorzio).

[2] Aged Parmigiano-Reggiano is an elegant pairing with the finest red wines.

October 27th is National Parmigiano-Reggiano Day. It deserves a celebration: It’s more than 900 years old (and extremely delicious)!

The annual holiday honors the “King of Cheeses,” authentic Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano. It was established in 2012 by the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium (Consorzio Parmigiano-Reggiano), the cheese’s governing body.

Parmigiano-Reggiano is more than a great cheese for pasta, pesto, risotto and Alfredo sauce.

Shave it onto salads, eggs and sandwiches. Add it to cheese plates. Enjoy it with a glass of hearty red wine.

It loves to be paired with apples, figs, grapes, kiwi, peaches, pears and walnuts.

Italians enjoy it for dessert, drizzled with a few drops of aged balsamic vinegar.

Guests love to be served large chunks of the cheese with a variety of dipping sauces—like pesto, garlicky tomato sauce, olive tapenade, parsley sauce and fruit chutney—on individual plates, or on a communal plate of skewers.

And as you can see in photo #2, there’s no better cheese to enjoy with a medium- or full-bodied red wine than Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Below:

> The difference between Parmigiano-Reggiano and generic Parmesan.

> What happens to wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano that don’t pass the 12-month test.
 
Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

> The history of cheese.

> The different types of cheese: a photo glossary.

> The great Italian grating cheeses: Parmigiano-Reggiano, Asiago, Grana Padano and Pecorino Romano.

> The year’s 30 cheese holidays.

Anyone, anywhere can make and sell a cheese called “Parmesan.” They follow a basic recipe and are under obligation to nobody to adhere to any standards, including aging it until full flavors develop.

Parmigiano-Reggiano, on the other hand, is D.O.P. name-protected (Denominazione d’Origine Protetta). This is a legal protection for the consumer that guarantees that you are buying an authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano, made by a trained artisan to exacting specification, produced in a specific geographical area, from milk from specific herds of animals raised in the same area, using techniques honed for centuries. Even the feed of the cows is dictated.

All of this activity is strictly supervised by a consortium (consorzio) that ensures that every wheel stamped with the official seal tastes exactly as it should.

After 12 months of aging (the minimum), each wheel is inspected and sometimes, if other tests for flaws fail, a thin probe will be inserted to draw out a small piece of the interior core (see photo). If the cheese does not pass, the exclusive pin-dot pattern on the sides is scraped off. The cheese can be sold as cheese for grating, but not as Parmigiano-Reggiano.

If it does pass, it can go on aging for up to 36 months.

Why are the words, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Parmesan, capitalized? Because they refer to the city of Parma in Italy, the center of making this great cheese.

However, both cheeses have a place at your table.

 

[3] Check out this “tasting plate”: six wedges of Parmigiano Reggiano aged for 18, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 months. We discovered it at Emilia Food Love. The crunchy, white, sand-like crystals found in matured Parmigiano-Reggiano are tyrosine crystals, an amino acid that crystallizes as proteins (specifically the casein) break down during the aging process.
 
 
WHAT HAPPENS TO WHEELS THAT DON’T PASS THE TEST?

In the world of the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano, quality control is brutal. Every single wheel is inspected by a master grader (battitore) using a small hammer to listen for structural flaws like eyes (holes) or cracks (photo #1).

If a wheel fails the test during the aging process (usually at the 12-month mark), it’s stripped of its identity (the markings on the rind) to protect the Consorzio’s reputation.
 
What Happens To Rejected Wheels?

They Are Declassified. If a wheel has significant structural or flavor defects, the official branding marks are literally scraped or planed off the rind. The characteristic pin-dot “Parmigiano-Reggiano” lettering is removed so that the consumer cannot identify it as the top-tier product. The Consortium’s oval certification mark is never applied.

Reclassification as Mezzano. Wheels with very minor internal holes or slight structural flaws—but still excellent flavor—are classified as Mezzano (Medium). These rinds are marked with parallel grooves or scratches around the entire circumference. They are sold at a much lower price and are intended to be eaten young (around 12–15 months) rather than aged further. These often appear in Italian supermarkets labeled simply as “table cheese.”

Downgrading to Zabros, i.e. Generic Grating Cheese. If a wheel is deemed unfit even for the Mezzano category, it cannot be given any name associated with the region. These wheels are often sold to large-scale food processors. They are shredded or grated and sold as generic “hard grating cheese” for use in premade frozen meals, canned soups, or industrial pesto. Because the flavor profile is still high-protein and savory, they are excellent for industrial melting applications where the structural “crumb” of the cheese doesn’t matter.

Extreme Failures Become Animal Feed. In rare cases, a wheel is biologically “off”—the fermentation gone wrong or mold penetrates into the paste). The cheese is discarded entirely. However, because it is essentially a concentrated block of protein and calcium, it is occasionally processed into high-end animal feed for local livestock.
 
 

[4] Wheels that don’t check all the boxes are “decommissioned.”
 

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