Parmigiano Reggiano

With cheese prices slipping while raw materials prices multiply, producers of Italy's parmigiano reggiano are turning to the government to remedy a dire situation. The wholesale price of parmiggiano reggiano has fallen below the cost of producing it. Cheese prices have dropped as the result of two factors. First, the availability of parmesan has increased: The sector produces 11 percent more cheese compared to eight years ago. Second, Italians are reacting to the economic downturn by purchasing less of the so-called "King of Cheese."

Producers complain that a select group of supermarkets are able to dictate low prices by buying the bulk of the cheese produced. "This is a prized product. There ought to be policies to safeguard those who produce it," said farmers group Coldiretti.

The group is lobbying the government to temporarily suspend an antitrust law so that producers can cooperate together to reduce output, rather than being wiped out by the competitive market.

Have you heard about the parmigiano reggiano crisis? Have you bought less parmesan cheese as a result of the rising cost of raw materials?

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Another strange food-based world record was set last month, but at least this time it wasn't a giant vat of food, or salad. In fact this time, it was actually sort of fun! On April 12 at 3 p.m. ET, cheesemongers at Whole Foods in the US, Canada and UK simultaneously cracked open nearly 300 wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano. With official recordings coming in from 176 stores, the record for Most Parmigiano Wheels Cracked Simultaneously was set.

While it sounds simple, the process of cracking open and carving an 85-pound cheese wheel can take up to a half an hour. When asked about the event, Cathy Strange, Global Cheese Buyer — doesn't that sound like a great job! — for Whole Foods said:

It was a sight to behold as our cheesemongers "broke open happiness" and shared this crown jewel of cheeses with our guests. We are thrilled that Whole Foods Market has made its mark in the Guinness Book of World Records.

To check out a video of a cheesemonger cracking open an 80-pound wheel, or see a step-by-step video of how to crack the cheese open, just read more

Your favorite Italian recipe calls for Parmigiano-Reggiano and your best friend's, which is very similar to yours, calls for parmesan. So what's the difference? Or are they the same thing? Well the answer is yes, and no.

You see, Parmigiano-Reggiano, is the only "true" parmesan cheese. This is because it's named after, and produced in, the Parma region of Italy. Parmigiano is simply the Italian adjective for Parma, and parmesan is the French adjective, which we use in America.

However the term parmesan has now become so broad that it now covers cheeses that are similar to (or imitating) Parmigiano-Reggiano. American parmesan is similar in flavor and texture, but has a higher salt content and is aged only 10 months (Parmigiano-Reggiano is aged a minimum of 12 months).

So how do you know if you're getting the real deal? Parmigiano-Reggiano is the only one that will have the words Parmigiano-Reggiano on the rind. No other parmesan cheese will have those exact words.