Sweet Cheese

Blog for January 11

Today was and excellent day for Marcia Pitcher, cheese lover and master of agri-tourism.

At 7 AM, John and I were up and on the road to the "Sezione di Modena e Bologna
Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-". Yes. That's right. The cheese factory. A dairy. It was amazing.

Years ago, John and I made a list of 50 things we want to do before we die. Although there were nobler ambitions on my list, 'making cheese" is one of the few that seems to have endured. I've made ricotta and paneer. I've visited a dairy in Vermont and watched how cheddar was made. So "Pamigiano-Regianno" was a must for this cheese lover.

After getting terribly lost, we managed to find the dairy a half hour later and still keep our marriage intact. When I got out of the car, Simona greeted us. By the end of the tour I had such admiration and respect for her. She was passionate about this cheese and her passion came from a rich background of cheese-making. Her great grandfather was making Parmigiano-Regianno in the 1940s.

When we walked into the first room the sweetish sourish smell of milk was in the air. The air was moist with evaporation from the vats of curds and whey.
I learned so much about the process and the many stages the cheese has to go through. It starts as just milk with the cream removed and heated slowly with rennet until the curd separates from the whey. We gazed into these cone shaped vats and suddenly this giant 90 kilogram cheese ball is hoisted up to the surface, cut in two and pulled out of the whey in cheese-cloth.

Simona explained all of the strict regulations involved in making this cheese and how important it is for each wheel of cheese to be inspected and to pass inspection. We visited the room where the wheels soak in sea salt for months. We saw how the wheels are dried and maintained for up to three years in this gigantic drying room. Each wheel is turned and wiped of the moisture that comes to the surface.

I learned that you can eat the rind and you can used the rind to improve soup stock. I learned that this cheese can help to cure lactose intolerance and helps with digestion.
Most importantly I learned that Simona loved to experience cheese making as much as I did. I probably shouldn't have referred to her as my soul mate in front of John and Sally.