Parmigiano Reggiano: a perfect pairing for every maturation

Thanks to its great biodiversity Parmigiano Reggiano is an irreplaceable ingredient in the kitchen: it enhances traditional recipes and enriches every course with aromas and flavors that vary depending on its maturation. It is perfect on its own as an appetizer with friends or as a healthy snack, it is excellent with fresh fruit, walnuts and honey. Parmigiano Reggiano with a maturation of 12-18 months is ideal as an appetizer paired with raw vegetables like celery and cherry tomatoes. Its delicate aroma is enhanced by mild fruit, for example made with kiwi, apricot or melon. To be served with sparkling or medium-bodied white wines. It pairs perfectly well also with low-alcohol cocktails.

Parmigiano Reggiano with a maturation of 24 months pairs perfectly well with the majority of pasta and rice courses, soups and vegetable creams, both grated and in flakes. Also the crust, once thoroughly cleaned, can be added to vegetable soups or creams to enrich their flavor. Parmigiano Reggiano with a maturation between 24 and 30 months is excellent in the preparation of main courses: flakes on fish or meat carpaccio or on roast beef with garden rocket and a dribble of extra virgin olive oil. Its long maturation allows to pair this Parmigiano Reggiano with more structured red wines. Parmigiano Reggiano is perfect in salads and with fresh vegetables dressed with a dribble of extra virgin olive oil. It naturally flavors also baked vegetables or ''au gratin'', as well as savory pies. The pronounced aromas of Parmigiano Reggiano with a maturation of more than 36 months pair perfectly with the sweetness and slight acidity of some drops of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena or Reggio Emilia.

Taste analysis

During this phase, tasters evaluate the basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter) and the trigeminal sensations (spicy, astringent, cooling, warming, acrid, metallic). Essentially, the tastes that can significantly define Parmigiano Reggiano are: sweet, usually more pronounced in not very matured products; salty, which increases with ageing; bitter, almost always a weak note, often linked to a herbaceous sensation. As regards Parmigiano Reggiano, attention focuses mainly on the spicy trigeminal sensation, which is expected to increase with the maturation of the cheese, but which should not be excessive.

What makes Parmigiano Reggiano so unique?

The secret is to transfer the tasty bacteria from the grass, to the cow, to the milk. It can then impart its delicious flavor on the cheese. Parmigiano Reggiano is made with no additives and its production specifications also prohibit the use of natural additives. To make Parmigiano Reggiano, cows are exclusively fed hay and grass (alfalfa and stable meadows), without using silage or fermented forage. The minimum maturation period for Parmigiano Reggiano is 12 months and, although the average maturation period is 24 months, the cheese can be matured for much longer – even up to 30 months and beyond. Parmigiano Reggiano dairies exclusively use natural fermented whey as a bacterial starter to boost the microbiological process. Parmigiano Reggiano boasts a 100% quality-control rate as the selection carried out by the Consortium during quality inspection (suitability assessment) at 12 months is performed on every single wheel.