Cheeses of Parma
The Emilian city of Parmigiano Reggiano and prosciutto, at the heart of Italy's Food Valley.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: April to June and September to October.
Parma is an elegant city of Emilia-Romagna, known for music, art and food. The province is one of the five where Parmigiano Reggiano may be made, and its plain is full of dairies, each turning out a few wheels a day. Parma ham is cured in the hills to the south, and the whey from cheese making once fed the pigs that became it.
Parmigiano Reggiano
Parmigiano Reggiano is made from raw cow's milk, part skimmed by letting the cream rise overnight. The milk is heated in copper vats, the curd broken into rice-sized grains, cooked and lifted out in cloth, then pressed into wheels of about forty kilograms. After brining, the wheels age for at least twelve months, often twenty-four or more, and are tested by tapping before they are fire-branded.
City and province
Parma has a Romanesque cathedral and baptistery, the Farnese theatre in the Pilotta palace and the Teatro Regio, linked with Verdi, who was born nearby. A museum devoted to the cheese is at Soragna in the province. The Food Valley around Parma also makes ham, culatello and pasta, and the city is a UNESCO creative city of gastronomy.
A trail idea for Parma
- Cathedral and Baptistery The Romanesque heart of the city.
- A caseificio See Parmigiano Reggiano made in the morning, where visits are offered.
- Museo del Parmigiano Reggiano The cheese museum in Soragna.
- Langhirano The ham town in the hills to the south.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Parma" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Parmesan: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source