Artisan process · 24 hours of craftsmanship

The Production of
Parmigiano Reggiano

From raw milk to PDO-certified wheel: the five stages
of an artisan process unchanged for 900 years.

Dairy craftsmanship · Since 1972

The production:
24 hours of art and milk

Every morning, within the first hours of the day, raw milk is poured into copper vats. From that moment, an artisan process begins that has remained essentially unchanged for over 900 years.

Parmigiano Reggiano is not manufactured — it is crafted. The cheesemaker reads the milk, feels the temperature by hand, judges coagulation by eye. No algorithm can replace this expertise, passed down from generation to generation.

24h From milk to wheel

2 Milkings per day

550L Milk per wheel

0 Additives permitted

Artisan Hand-crafted
every single day

PDO Regulation Art. 5

Step 1 of 9 · Controlled origin

Milk
Selection

Every wheel begins with raw cow's milk sourced exclusively from farms located within the PDO production zone: the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna (west of the River Reno) and Mantova (east of the River Po). Selected farms follow strict feeding standards: the diet is based on fresh or preserved natural forages, hay, beet pulp and cereals. Silage maize is explicitly excluded by the PDO specification.

PDO Zone: 5 provinces in Emilia. Every wheel is fully traceable back to its farm of origin, thanks to the dairy number embossed on the mould.

Natural Process

Step 2 of 9 · No mechanical intervention

Natural
Skimming

Each evening, fresh whole milk from the afternoon milking is poured into wide, shallow vats and left to rest overnight — approximately 8–12 hours. The cream, being lighter, rises spontaneously to the surface with no mechanical intervention: no centrifuge, no additives. The following morning the cream is skimmed off by hand, yielding a partially skimmed milk with a balanced fat content, ideal for Parmigiano Reggiano production.

Biological process: 8–12 hours of natural resting for skimming. This method, unchanged for centuries, preserves the organoleptic properties of raw milk.

Copper Vat

Step 3 of 9 · The preparation

Union of the Milks
& Preparation

In the morning, the partially skimmed milk from the previous evening's natural creaming is combined with the whole milk from the morning milking. The blend — approximately 550 litres per vat — is poured into the traditional bell-shaped copper vats, the beating heart of the Ferrarini & Bonetti dairy since 1972. Copper ensures even heat distribution and promotes the natural development of lactic acid bacteria.

550 litres of milk per vat yield two twin wheels of approximately 40 kg each. The ratio is roughly 13.75 litres for every kilogram of finished cheese.

Zero Additives

Step 4 of 9 · Purely natural

Starting the
Transformation

The cheesemaker adds the natural whey starter: a whey rich in live thermophilic lactic acid bacteria, kept from the previous day's production. This natural starter is the dairy's "DNA" — each caseificio develops its own unique culture over time. Animal rennet from calf is then added. No artificial enzymes, no preservatives: the PDO specification explicitly forbids them.

Whey starter: natural lactic acid bacteria drawn from the previous day's whey. The oldest and safest cheesemaking starter method, practised without interruption for 900 years.

Artisan Gesture

Step 5 of 9 · Breaking with the spinner

Birth
of the Curd

In 10–12 minutes the milk coagulates, forming a uniform gelatinous mass. The cheesemaker then uses the spino — a traditional sphere-shaped tool with spikes — to break the curd into microscopic granules the size of a grain of rice. This fragmentation is essential: it determines the granular structure unique to Parmigiano Reggiano and promotes the expulsion of whey from the curd.

Granules the size of rice: the fineness of the break is gauged empirically by the cheesemaker, who adjusts the speed and pressure of the spino according to the appearance and consistency of the curd.

55 °C · PDO Regulation

Step 6 of 9 · Cooking

Cooking

The curd granules are slowly cooked in the copper vat, reaching 54–55 °C over approximately 10 minutes (the PDO specification sets the maximum at 56 °C). At this temperature the granules dehydrate, compact and sink to the bottom of the vat, forming a dense, pasty mass — the future wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano. The residual whey remains in the vat: it will be used for yoghurt and for the next day's whey starter.

Cooking below 56 °C: a limit imposed by the PDO specification to preserve live lactic acid bacteria. Exceeding this threshold would compromise the biological and organoleptic properties of the cheese.

Manual Work

Step 7 of 9 · Linen cloths

Extraction

With expert and powerful movements, the cheesemaker plunges linen cloths into the vat and lifts the entire curd mass settled on the bottom — a weight of approximately 80 kilograms. The mass is divided exactly into two equal parts and wrapped in separate cloths, supported by a wooden pole resting across the vat. From each vat come two twin wheels: a moment of extraordinary physicality and artisan precision.

Two twin wheels per vat: each pair is born from the same milk, under the same conditions. Shape, structure and organoleptic characteristics will be virtually identical.

Unique Identity

Step 8 of 9 · Mould & marking

Moulding
& Identity

Each wheel is placed into a rigid plastic mould that gives it the characteristic cylindrical shape. In the first 24 hours the mould embosses on the rind the dotted marking with the words "PARMIGIANO REGGIANO" repeated around the entire circumference, together with the dairy number, the province of production, and the month and year of manufacture. A casein plaque with a sequential number guarantees unique traceability for every individual wheel.

Full traceability: every wheel is given a unique code before ageing even begins. The Consortium has recorded every wheel produced in Italy using this system since 1938.

Natural Preservation

Step 9 of 9 · Brine salting

Salting

The wheels are immersed in tanks of saturated brine — a solution of water and salt (NaCl) — for approximately 20–22 days. Salt penetrates slowly from the outside inward by natural osmosis, never reaching the heart of the wheel. This process imparts the right savouriness, contributes to rind formation and acts as a natural preservative, eliminating the need for any chemical additive.

Just milk, water and salt: the PDO specification prohibits the use of any additive, preservative, colouring or non-animal enzyme. Three ingredients, 900 years of history, zero compromises.

The production process is complete

The wheel is born.
Now its journey through time begins.

After salting, every wheel enters the ageing warehouse. Here it will rest for at least 12 months — and often 24, 30 or 40 — before the Consortium judges it worthy of the fire-branded mark. It is the ageing that makes Parmigiano Reggiano what it is.

Discover the Ageing Book a Guided Tour