Why Parmesan Cheese Is So Expensive | Regional Eats

a wheel of Parmesan cheese can cost over $1,000 the average wheel weighs 88 pounds which means because over $11 per pound that might not sound like a lot but it's more than double the price of your average cheddar a wheel of Parmesan cheese takes a list one year to age a hundred 31 gallons of milk to make and you can only be made in a small area in northern Italy Parmesan cheese is a big business for Italy an average of three point six million wheels are produced each year and the industry is worth an eye-popping 2.2 billion euros that's about 2.5 billion u.s. dollars making this cheese one of Italy's biggest exports every single cheese wheel is made in a restricted area in northern Italy in the region of Emilia Romagna its Italian name in fact parmigiano-reggiano means from the cities of Parma and regi media so how does this turn into this and what makes this so special we went to a dairy in Parma Italy to find out [Music] the very first producers of Parmesan cheese were monks over a thousand years ago then like now Parmesan wheels were made with only three ingredients cow milk salt and remnant there are only 329 dairies in the whole world there are certified to produce Parmesan cheese and they're all based in the same area where the monks used to make it in fact it isn't even possible to make the exact same product outside of the production area and what is that turns out it's all about three good bacteria they only grow in the specific territory total illogical awfully depression depends on oregano tetrisphere christie battery dollar bah a la forma de conservation reliable phenol delfino a la monja TOA de la monja to--it réseau de technically deliver mental animali a lot Munawar tequila finishes officio city arkadii phallic resharper permettre adore oprah's Enza dentro la forma del parmigiano-reggiano celerity so no firm internal component Adela Lily our only proof una suppori typical parmesan it takes 131 gallons of milk to make one wheel or Parmesan cheese that's how long milk there is combined freshly milk whole milk with day-old skim milk to make the cheese the two milks are transferred in this copper vats along with fermented way a sort of sourdough and then branded an enzyme which gives the milk a yogurt like texture [Music] the cheese master will then split the milk into curds using this tool called genome [Music] Lazzaro Devi transform are a Christa consistence ax you know consistence up you go Monza partido be a moto Lyari aqua mr. Guevara formaggio destiny Torah any second Arif as delicate aura in cinque minuti she passed a temporary train Tata Guerra de cinta area Cinque wanted Cinque regard each in theory together with change in the cheese texture cooking the milk does another essential job do you remember the three good bacteria well they're not alone or the bacteria bad bacteria might have joined the party cooking the milk ensures that only the good bacteria can continue the journey while the others are kicked out one cooked the curl travels all the way to the bottom of the VAT where it's left to settle 45 minutes later here it is compact massive current weighing 220 pounds [Music] this mass is the equivalent of two cheese wheels and speak carefully by workers with linen coats [Music] HEV is then transferred in two modes [Music] only do Orrin quest Otello DNA Camby otto l operati oniy a seat all gyal pezzo super guest Amasa see cambia el que lo c gr a la forma quest oniy do or a fee no Alice era a living tea at 8:00 p.m. the cheese is covered with this stencil which will engrave the logo parmigiano-reggiano this dots are the mark of origin used to tell customers that this is the real thing made in the same restricted area where monks used to live in the Middle Ages each wheel is also given an ID it's this plaque made from milk protein which contains information about where it was produced and one the stencil is removed four days later and the wheels are praised in two Brians where they stay completely plunged for about 19 days this process helps to form the cheese rind which acts as a barrier for the cheese and this is when the maturation process begins [Music] wheels remain relatively untouched for one year after that a master grade they will respect him and Brandon [Music] the average maturation is two years but some wheels are aged as long as ten years to achieve a stronger nuttier taste [Music] a longer maturation period makes the price go higher that's why I Strava cure very old parmesan that has matured for three years will be sold on the market for an average of 13 euros that's about 15 US dollars per pound this high price means that there is no black market of counterfeit parmesan products Italy has been struggling with fake products for years in fact the problem is so big that the fakes have become an industry of their own that is estimated to be worth a hundred billion euros that's about 113 billion u.s. dollars with parmigiano-reggiano being one of the biggest brands fighting copycats while the cheese is protected in the European Union under the protected designation of origin scheme it is still struggling to get the recognition it deserves in the rest of the world the foreigner Appiah a 40 quid PI a Z K no fan of party Accord the militarily between linear condo suta automotive or opium el problema veramente molto Grande Permanente molto scenario in fatiha ladi toot airport a jury termini parmigiano-reggiano a travail as soon operatio knee-deep aussie to denmark oh don t pi is equal to del mundo inteiro John on trademark pero a possibility read re in tanta president mode terminal parmesan queenie maintained in confusion consummatory finally que piensa de aqua star elver parmigiano-reggiano quest on don't parmesan kill poor may veramente molto Grande esta la Brando alivelu garnet evo so how do you recognize a real Parmesan cheese do you remember this daughter stencil that's a soil indication that the cheese is legit if that's not visible the packaging should contain parmigiano Reggiano official logo and they use protected designation origin [Music]

Channel: Food Insider

Views: 28,017,768

Rating: 4.830904 out of 5

Keywords: Italy, Emilia Romagna, Parmesan cheese, FOOD INSIDER, factory, Italian food, Video, How It's Made, cheese, INSIDER, UK, Original, Parma

Id: ZgjWOo7IqQY

Length: 9min 59sec (599 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 17 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Sir-Spliffa-Lot]

It seems like these bacteria seem to have great time! Of course a party like this results in unique cheese! By the way: does anybody know which app they use to check for the origin of the cheese or can recommend any?

[u/laddersTheodora]

TBH it's not that expensive. Really strong and high quality cheese has a lot of value and you don't need a lot of it with your meals. I don't exactly eat parmesan/parmigiano_reggiano off the block like I do with colby jack.

[u/cookinjohn]

Parmesan v parmiggiano...

[u/lacraquotte]

Parmesan is typically fairly cheap. Parmigiano reggiano on the other hand... Big difference between the real deal and knock-offs.

[u/JoshuaSonOfNun]

I'm gonna ask here.

Why haven't I had a Parmesan that even compares with the 18 month real stuff that sells at Costco?

Surely it can't be just the location where it's produced, is it just too difficult to emulate the same techniques?

[u/UnderTheRain]

I know this is a long shot, but does anyone know the music in the first half? The one with the marimbas and later oboes?