Parmigiano Reggiano is produced exclusively in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna on the left of the river Reno and Mantova on the right of the river Po: Here the farms are concentrated in which the cows are fed with forages produced in this area.
The feeding of animals is treated in accordance with a regulation that prevents the use of silage forages, fermented foods and flours of animal origin. The morning milk and the previous evening are poured into the typical copper boilers in the shape of a reversed campaign.
For each form of Parmigiano Reggiano it takes about 550 liters of milk.
The coagulation of milk occurs slowly and naturally thanks to the addition of caglio and serum graft obtained from the processing of the previous day and rich in natural lactic ferments.
The curd is fragmented by the house master in tiny granules thanks to an ancient tool called spino.
It is at this point that the fire enters, for a cooking that reaches the 55 centigrade degrees, at the end of which the casey granules fall on the bottom of the boiler forming a single mass.
After about fifty minutes the housekeeper extracts the house mass that will give life to two twin forms.
Cut into two parts and wrapped in the typical linen, the cheese is put into a strip that will give it its definitive form.
