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The History of Parmesan Cheese

August 2, 2012 9:40 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Fame through the ages

Parmesan is one of a category of cheeses called grana because of their grainy texture. They are made throughout northern Italy and for centuries a war was waged over whosegrana was considered the most prestigious. The cheeses made around Parma and Reggio in Emilia Romagna eventually won, with those of the other regions being lumped under the name of Grana Padano, after the name for the Po river valley. Over the years, Parmesan found fame all over Europe: In Italy, Boccaccio dreamt of a huge pile of grated Parmesan in his Decameron of 1348, in France it is said that Moliere would eat nothing else in the final years of his life and in England, Samuel Peyps hastily buried his Parmesan to save it from the Great Fire of London.

Despite its fame and popularity, production of the cheese remained small until the start of the 20th century when between 1894 and 1914 it shot up sixfold as diary farmers grouped together into more efficient cooperatives and improved transport saw Parmesan exported to Austria, Hungary, France and the United States.

In 1910 the first milk inspection office was established in Reggio Emilia.The purpose of the office was to “promote the sale of milk and to guarantee its quality, to examine the milk with regards to its suitability for the production of cheese, to give an identity to Parmigiano Reggiano and to protect it from imitations, as well as to promote and support any initiative for the defence and the improvement of the dairy industry of Reggio“.

The effect of World War 1 was to gravely damage the agrarian economy in general and the dairy sector in particular.The post war years were ones of struggle not helped by the production of Reggianito cheese, a cheap Argentinian imitation that flooded Parmesan’s potential export markets.The ancient and on-going rivalry between the towns of Parma and Reggio also prevented positive progress in the industry: in truth, the territory of Reggio enjoyed superior productivity and quality but the name of the town of Parma linked it by a centuries-old tradition to the cheese.

The creation of the Parmesan Consorzio in Reggio in 1934 was designed in part to put an end to this constant squabbling.


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Parmigiano and your health

August 2, 2012 9:39 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Eating Parmesan

Nutritional Benefits of Parmesan

The nutritional benefits of Parmesan are such that it should rightly be regarded as a ‘super-food’. Cheese contains all the goodness of milk but in a concentrated form – 16 litres of milk are required for every kilo of Parmesan. A look at the table opposite will give some idea of its relative merits:

Easy to Digest

One of the factors that make Parmesan so ‘super’ is the ease with which the human digestive system can assimilate all this goodness. Due to its long ageing, much of the protein in Parmesan has been broken down into peptones, peptides and free amino acids, in effect the protein has been ‘pre-digested’; the protein is readily available and as such it puts very little strain on the metabolism.

Parmesan contains 33% protein compared to 20% in lean beef and that animal protein takes 4 hours to digest while the protein in Parmesan takes just 45 minutes. Other benfits to the digestion include Parmesan’s ability to promote the development ofBacillus Bifidus, which is useful for the maintenance of a healthy gut, and also the fact that there is no lactose present – good news for the lactose intolerant or those with gastro-intestinal inflammation.

But isn’t the fat content high?

The fat content of cheese often causes alarm to the health conscious but it is important to note that fat is a fundamental part of nutrition. Muscular activity is dependent on fatty acids and, again, because of the changes that occur during the ageing of Parmesan, much of the fat is in the form of short-chain fatty acids, these compounds are absorbed more easily and supply energy very quickly to the body; in fact, they are treated by the body in much the same way as glucosides (sugar). The cholesterol content of Parmesan is only 80 – 85mg/100g, much lower than other full fat cheeses. Exponents of preventative medicine take an unfavourable view of this sterol but a daily intake of 300mg is beneficial according to health guidelines so cholesterol should not be seen as a limiting factor in the consumption of Parmesan.

This combination of nutritional benefits explains why in Italy doctors recommend Parmesan to infants and the elderly as well as to athletes.

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New York food passion: After love fades, Parmigiano-Reggiano still lingers

August 2, 2012 9:35 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

After love fades, Parmigiano-Reggiano still lingers

more parm

Mark Bittman’s January 6th article in the New York Times, “Fresh Start for the New Year? Let’s Begin in the Kitchen,  about the essentials of a great, cook-ready pantry, is a must-read for anyone who fancies him or herself a kitchen whiz. For me and my other ex-pro pals (and, of course, passionate home cooks) most of his wisdom is a given – we were beaten into acquiescence by culinary school and later by food movements and food evangelists we’ve worshipped, adopted and, sometime later, abandoned.

 

Much has already been said about Bittman’s list* — bloggers have remarked on their own pantries (for the record, mine does not exist – all of it is packed in boxes, discarded, or passed on to appreciative friends. In packing up the pantry, I found at least four different versions of pimenton – hot, sweet, regional, bulk, tinned and jarred. Slightly excessive, no?) and taken pictures to share with the rest of the foodie blogosphere. I’d like to add a couple more pantry staples – European cultured butter (Plugra will do in a flash), chicken fat, which I keep in the freezer, and coconut fat. All are delightfully saturated and, according to conventional wisdom, will lead to a life of angioplasties if you make it past menopause (I’m with the Weston A Price folks on this one, though I’m very moderate in my use. I’ve never met a naturally saturated fat I didn’t like and they most certainly did not shorten the lives of the women in my family, all of whom lived past 90. But anyway).

What excited me the most about Bittman’s list was his outright rejection of canned, grated “Parmesan” – the fat vehicle for salt that is but the faintest shadow of its inspiration, Parmigiano-Reggiano, the Italian “king” of cheese.

Even in my darkest days, when money was in short supply and I had to trim the extras from my life, I could always find enough change to purchase a wedge of Parm. Though I could no longer afford the trendy Vacche Rosse or the four year old Guffanti-selected mountain-pastured Parmigiano-Reggiano I favored when I was still in the cheese biz, I could still scrape together enough change to buy the just-cut-from-the-wheel wedges at the local specialty markets. The $9 I spent was a worthwhile investment: I could stretch a wedge for months, and every single shaving was a savory gift that enhanced so much of what it touched. I kept the rinds around to season stock, or, when my dog was especially good, as a treat for her (they’re chewy and don’t cause her indigestion).  There was no way I’d consider trading down; I’d even convinced my mother to abandon the green shaker of shame after I’d introduced her to the simple joys of the real thing.

Later on, when I was internet dating, I’d routinely list Parmigiano-Reggiano as one of the things I could not live without. I made it clear to prospective paramours that the green can was verboten in my life, much as drug use and children are for some internet match seekers. I thought it would be an effective filter.

Imagine how thrilled I was when, via the same website, I found a foodie who seemed to share my passion for things edible. As I dug deeper, I found a few surprises:  rarely patronized farmers’ markets because of high prices, yet always dined out at lunch time, spending about the same amount; he could be indiscriminate in his appetites; and, hardest for me to reconcile, he still purchased and enjoyed “Parmesan”, the shelf-stable and pre-grated scourge.

I found this out quite accidentally. During a trip to Target to pick up something that must have seemed very important at the time – and of which I have no recollection now – he casually reached over to a display of green cheese and tried to add a cylinder to the cart. I grabbed it out of his hands (thinking he was joking) and put it back on the shelf. Much acrimony ensued. The more  I pleaded with him to give up the can and turn to the wedge, the more he dug in his heels.  We reached an impasse: I was hopelessly controlling and a snob, he was relentlessly, proudly pedestrian.

Our relationship soon faltered. Perhaps because of the cheese, perhaps because the row over cheese highlighted something more fundamentally incompatible between us. No mind – Parmigiano-Reggiano is still in my life, adding flavor and texture and joy nearly every day.

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Apennines of Parma (Eastern range)

August 2, 2012 8:53 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Appennino Parmense (Eastern Sector)

 Appennino Parmense (Eastern Sector)
Page Type: Area/RangeLocation: Parma/Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Europe

Lat/Lon: 44.38669°N / 10.02983°E

Activities: Hiking, Mountaineering, Trad Climbing, Sport Climbing, Toprope, Bouldering, Ice Climbing, Scrambling, Skiing

Season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Elevation: 6106 ft / 1861 m

 Page By: mazzaniCreated/Edited: Jan 12, 2012 / Mar 15, 2012

Object ID: 770794

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Overview

Twin Lakes from Rocca Pumaciolo

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Twin Lakes (Laghi Gemini) from Rocca Pumaciolo

Sillara Twin Lakes in early summer

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Sillara Twin Lakes in early summer

Lago Verde (Green Lake) in early winter

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Green Lake (Lago Verde) in early winter

Pradaccio Lake from Roccabiasca summit

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Pradaccio Lake from Roccabiasca summit

Lago Scuro (Dark Lake) from Monte Scala

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Dark Lake (Lago Scuro) from Monte Scala

The Holy Lake (Lago Santo)

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The Holy Lake (Lago Santo)

Appennino Parmense Orientale - View on Central Peaks

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Central Area’s peaks seen from Monte Orsaro m. 1831

Appennino Parmense Orientale - View from NE

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Central and Western peaks seen from Rocca Pumacioletto summit m. 1690

Appennino Parmense Orientale - View from NE

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Holy Lake peaks seen from NE

Appennino Parmense Orientale - View from SW

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View on Western peaks from South-West

Appennino Parmense Orientale - View from Passo Paitini

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Monte Sillara m. 1861 – the highest peak – and Rocca Pianaccia seen from West (Passo Paitini)

The Apennines are the longest mountains’ chain in Italy. They are divided in three main parts: Northern, Central and Southern Apennines.
Northern Apennines run from West to East, separating the greatest Italian continental North Plane (Pianura Padana) from the Italian peninsula, bordered by Mediterranean Sea.
Northern Apennines are divided into two parts again: Appennino Ligure in West side and Appennino Tosco-Emiliano in East side. The Appennino Tosco-Emiliano, situated between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany administrative districts, shows some different areas: it’s named Appennino Parmense Orientale (Eastern Parmese Apennines) the area located inside the Eastern part of Parma Province administrative boundaries and running between Cirone Pass in W side and Lagastrello Pass in E side. The area’s main valleys are Val Parma in western sector and Val Cedra in eastern sector. As in all Northern Apennines there are not very high mountains and rocky ones are few. The highest peak of all the district is the secluded Monte Sillara mt. 1861, with its fine Sillara Twin Lakes, situated one hundred meters below the mountain’s summit ridge in its Northern side; in summer, when the area is the domain of trekkers rather than climbers, this peak, as well as other ones inside the area, shows a typical shepherd’s landscape. Nevertheless, both rock climbers and ice climbers can find several and suitable play ground. Some fine 30 to 170 meters high cliffs are equipped to enjoy sport climbing in spring and summer, especially inside the magnificent Twin Lakes (Laghi Gemini) sector; during the cold season the district offers magnificent winter’s ascents to several peaks, which summits can be reached along normal routes with low technical engagement, while ice climbers can climb some interesting gullies and little ice-falls.

Nature and climate

The area, normally as far as 1.600 mts, is covered by a dense magnificent forest, perfectly preserved through several years of massive deforestation (in the beginning of the twentieth century), due to mountain people’s poverty situation in that period. Due to the great difference between winter climate – snowy and cold – and summer’s climate – relatively warm – the arboreal species that succeed in this environment have adaptations to both seasons. The autochthonous beech (Fagus Sylvatica) is the original and largest specie in the area and can reach heights of 20-30 mts, with characteristic straight trunks. Evergreen conifers as White Firs (Abies Alba) where added later as the result of forestation’s work.
Rocks, forests and climate create a landscape similar to the north Scandinavian one.
The climate is a sub-continental one, so we have cold and snowing winter and summer not too hot due to the sea influence and wind action.

Lakes and ancient glaciers

During Wurmian period the whole area was interested by a great glaciation. The landscape was sculpted by glaciers and today offers to the visitor’s eyes an undoubted evidence of the biggest glacier ever established in Apennines (very likely it was longer than 8 Kms, larger than 2,5 and higher than 200 mts). Rocks’ particular features and circular holes in the sandstone, rocky steps in the valleys and lateral moraines are evidence of.

Getting There

Parma is the nearest town to the area; it’s a nice 200.000 inhabitants town, the capital of food valley, the famous food production and factory district. Its airport offers some domestic flies and only a few international one. A good choice of international flies is provided by Milan and Bologna International Airports, both at a reasonable distance (about 100 km).
Parma is linked to other Italian and European towns by A1 and A15 motorways, so logistic is not a problem.

Access from A15 (Autocisa Motorway) – Following A15 towards North exit Pontremoli and follow the road to Passo del Cirone and Bosco di Corniglio. From here follow the road towards the locality named Cancelli. If you’re driving on A15 towards South it’s better to exit to Borgo Val di Taro and follow the road to Passo del Sillara and Bosco di Corniglio.

Access from Parma

-To Lagdei and Lagoni sectors: from Parma follow the SP 665 (Massese) towards Langhirano and Capoponte; here turn to right, reaching Corniglio, Bosco di Corniglio and the locality named Cancelli.

-To Valditacca and Pratospilla sectors: from Parma follow the SP towards Langhirano and Capoponte; here carry on straight following the road towards Palanzano and Monchio delle Corti.

Red and White markers

A beech, still bare

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Fagus Sylvatica (Beech)

First sunbeams near Capanna Schiaffino

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First sunbeams near Capanna Schiaffino

Appennino Parmense - Beeches wood near Twin Lakes

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A beeches’s wood Near Twin Lakes

An ancient stone s bas-relief nearby Badignana Huts

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An ancient stone’s bas-relief at Badignana

The forestal road towards Badignana Huts

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The forestal road to Badignana

Eastern Parmese Apennines flora

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Eastern Parmese Apennines flora

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Eastern Parmese Apennine flora

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Silver Thistle

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Since 1995 the highest part of this area is situated under the regulation of a regional park having the evocative name of Parco deiCento Laghi (One Hundred Lakes Park), in reason of quite a lot of small lakes existing inside the park’s boundaries. In late years this area was included inside a largest park, named Parco Nazionaledell’Appenino Tosco-Emiliano (Tosco-Emiliano National Park); wood fires are prohibited as well as free camping and other harmful activity.
Walking and climbing are allowed and many trails are marked by Club Alpino Italiano Sezione di Parma.

Main Summits and Main Trails

A huge frozen cross on Monte Marmagna

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A huge frozen cross over Monte Marmagna

Monte Sillara summit cairn

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Monte Sillara summit cross

Monte Navert seen from Rocca Pumacioletto

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Monte Navert m. 1654

Monte Scala in early spring

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Monte Scala m. 1715

Rocca Pumacioletto SW side

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Rocca Pumacioletto m. 1690

Monte Orsaro seen from Monte Braiola

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Monte Orsaro m. 1831

Monte Braiola seen from Monte Marmagna

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Monte Braiola m. 1821

A winter image of Monte Marmagna

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Monte Marmagna m. 1851

Monte Sillara

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Monte Sillara m. 1861

Roccabiasca from Brusà Saddle

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Roccabiasca m. 1727

Torricella West Gullies

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Torricella m. 1728

Rocca Pianaccia seen from Sillara summit

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Rocca Pianaccia m. 1762

MAIN SUMMITS (in order of height)

Monte Sillara m. 1861- Monte Losanna m. 1855 Monte Marmagna m. 1851 Monte Matto m. 1837 – Monte Bragalata m. 1835 – Monte Orsaro m. 1831 – Monte Braiola m. 1821- Monte Paitino m. 1814 – Monte Brusà m. 1796 – Monte Bocco m. 1790 – Monte Aquila m. 1779 – Monte Uomo Morto m. 1773 – Rocca Pianaccia m. 1762 – Monte Aquilotto m. 1747 – Cima Canuti m. 1743 -Monte Torricella m. 1728 – Roccabiasca m. 1727 – Monte Scala m. 1715 – Monte Malpasso m. 1713 – Rocca Pumaciolo m. 1711 – Rocca Pumacioletto m. 1690 – Monte Fosco m. 1680 – Monte Navert m. 1654 – Monte Tavola m. 1508

ROCK CLIMBING AND ICE CLIMBING MAIN SUMMITS

Monte Scala mt. 1715
Rocca Pumacioletto mt. 1690
Roccabiasca mt. 1727
Torricella mt. 1726
Stagnoni

MAIN TRAILS

Inside the area there is a thick network of trails marked and maintained by Club Alpino Italiano Sezione di Parma, introducing the hiker to the discovery of all the main landscape’s features, to visit the numerous small lakes and to the observation of the ancient glacier’s traces.
An easy and very satisfactory trail marked 00 and oriented W to E crosses the whole chain along the main boundary’s ridge dividing Emilia-Romagna to Tuscany.

The most interesting walks, on clearly marked paths, are:

- Trail 00 from Passo del Cirone m. 1255 to Passo del Lagastrello m. 1153
- From Lagdei to Lago Santo Parmense
- From Lagdei to Capanna Schiaffino
- From Lagoni forestal road to Capanne di Badignana and Sella del Brusà
- From Lagoni forestal road to Fontana del Vescovo and Passo Fugicchia
- From Lagoni to Lago Scuro and Capanne del Lago Scuro
- From Lagoni to Lago Verde
- From Lagoni to Buca della Neve (Snow’s Hole)
- From Valditacca to Laghi Sillara
- From Pratospilla to Lago Ballano and Lago Verde

Huts and Bivouacs

Parmesan Apennines - Snowfall at Pradaccio Lake .

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Pradaccio Forestal Hut

Capanna Schiaffino (Schiaffino Hut)

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Capanna Schiaffino

Capanna Cagnin (Cagnin Hut)

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Capanna Cagnin

Huts:

Rifugio CAI Giovanni Mariotti m. 1507 (CAI Sez. di Parma) +390521889334
RIFUGIO MARIOTTI

Rifugio Lagdei m. 1250+390521889353
RIFUGIO LAGDEI

Rifugio Lagoni m. 1342+390521889118
RIFUGIO LAGONI

Rifugio – Hotel Pratospilla m. 1360 +390521890194
RIFUGIO PRATOSPILLA

Bivouacs:

Capanne del Lago Scuro m. 1528(Keys available at Rifugio Lagoni)
Capanne di Badignana m. 1480 (Keys available at Rifugio Lagoni)
Capanna Roberto Schiaffino m. 1610 - always open
Capanna Cagnin m. 1589 – always open
Capanna Forestale della Pianaccia m.1250 – always open

When to hike and climb

The hikers can enjoy trails all around the year; all main summits can be easily climbed without the use of technical gear from May to November. Winter’s ascents along normal routes – from December to April – are not difficult, but require the use of axe and crampons. Best months for ice-climbing (gullies) goes from middle December to the end of March, while the period to climbing ice falls is very short (from the end of December to the end of February); conditions can change very quickly even during the coldest months on account of marine wind’s action. Best season for rock climbing and bouldering goes from May to the end of October.

Meteo

METEO ARPA EMILIA-ROMAGNA

Guidebooks and Maps
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Posted in: Attractions in Italy, food n walk, Food n walk tours, Food tours ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,