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How Parmesan is made
The organic farming processing method differs from the traditional one only in terms of ingredients, such as milk, which must be strictly organic. The Parmigiano-Reggiano processing regulations strictly prohibit the use of pasteurized milk.
The location of the farm in an area that is flat but not too flat (it is still 70 m above sea level), allows this cheese to mature quickly, which is why Borgo del Gazzano cheese is already excellent for consumption after 13 months.
The selection of the cattle and the special care reserved for it, play a decisive role in achieving these results that are immediately noticeable to the palate. Elements that play a decisive role in the maturing process and that have allowed our cheese to reach important and exceptional goals, such as a product aged up to 100 months and more, capable of not losing any of its main characteristics, indeed even enhancing them.
The master cheesemaker
The art of the cheesemaker of Borgo del Gazzano allows the various stages of cooking the milk to be preceded by the eye and sensitivity of the cheesemaker himself, who in this way, playing in advance, manages to make the cooking times coincide perfectly. Even a single small smudge would make the product different, drier and therefore more subject to cracks both externally and internally during the maturing process. Particular attention is then paid to the curd, which must be particularly soft in order to make the product as homogeneous as possible and compact in its entirety. The result in this way is a particularly sweet product both in taste and, above all, in aftertaste, capable of not leaving any type of residue in the mouth.
The processing of organic Parmigiano-Reggiano takes place with the mixture of the evening milk skimmed through natural surfacing and that of the whole milk from the morning milking. To this is added natural whey starter and calf rennet for a coagulation process lasting 10-12 minutes. Afterwards, the curd is broken for a duration of 2 minutes using a special tool, called a “spino”, followed by a purging and cooking phase for a total duration of 10-12 minutes. Cooking Parmigiano is one of the most complicated phases of production. In fact, it requires careful control of the various cooking phases, which are mainly two; the first at 27°R (Reaumur), when the rennet is added for the coagulation of the cheese; the second at 44°R, which is reached by closing the steam, but at least 3 degrees below.
Once the cooking phase is completed, the product is left to stand under whey in the cooking boiler for 50-60 minutes. Once the forms have been removed from the boilers, they are placed on special shims where they are placed in teflon moulds, where they remain for a day, during which they are turned several times to facilitate the draining of the whey, then in honeycomb steel moulds where they remain for 2-3 days. After this period, which is necessary for the consolidation of the forms, they are placed in a special tank for salting for a period of 24 days. Only at the end of this process is the product introduced into the maturing warehouses where it remains for at least 12 months up to 36 months and beyond. The first quality control and relative branding takes place only at 12 months, not before.
Parmigiano-Reggiano del Borgo del Gazzano can be consumed after 13 months of maturing, that is, after the first fire branding.
We package all types of cuts, from whole forms to 250g tips, vacuum-packed in heat-shrink bags. In the first case, storage must take place in environments with a temperature between 10°C and 18°C, while in the second case between 2°C and 8°C. As for the whole form, there are no particular expiration dates, as it is a long-seasoning product, while the vacuum-shrink packaging has an average shelf life of 12 months.