PARMIGIANO FROM A HUNDRED YEARS AGO?

It’s Made in Wisconsin

"Parmigiano, along with Grana Padano, is the most imitated agri-food product in the world, becoming Parmesan from the United States to Australia, from South Africa to Russia, Parmesano in Uruguay, Reggianito in Argentina, or Parmesao in Brazil...". For years, Italy has been running a campaign against fake (or allegedly fake) Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano. Agricultural associations, particularly Coldiretti, have pointed out that the production of these cheeses, "driven by a counterfeit industry," surpasses that of the originals worldwide, "taking market share away from symbols of Made in Italy." A few years ago, dozens of farmers took to the streets in Bologna to protest the uncontrolled proliferation of fake Parmigiano Reggiano, a phenomenon that, according to Coldiretti, causes billions in damage, estimating that in Emilia-Romagna alone, this "theft, beyond just identity, is worth 8 billion in value," equivalent to "thirty thousand jobs." Bold claims that warrant some clarification.

Between Italian sounding and environmental sustainability

The so-called "Italian sounding" is indeed a crime, and crimes should be prosecuted. However, this doesn't justify making absurd claims. Do we really believe that American consumers confuse Parmesan with Parmigiano, which are so different in quality and price range? Do we really think that if there were no Parmesan, the hundreds of millions of kilos of allegedly imitated cheese sold worldwide could be replaced by sales of Parmigiano and Grana Padano?

Let’s do some quick, albeit rough, calculations.

In 2022, over 155,000 tons of Parmigiano and 195,000 tons of Grana Padano were produced in Italy (53% of both for domestic consumption, 47% for export). The production of "fake" cheeses slightly exceeds the numbers of the "originals." Therefore, according to Coldiretti's narrative, if people worldwide weren’t so foolish as to confuse the wonderful (and expensive) Italian products with the less prestigious (and cheaper) “fake” products, Italian production could be doubled, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs! Of course, we’d need to solve one of those annoying environmental issues that Greta Thunberg talks about, because going from the current 150,000 Italian farms with 6 million cattle (60% of which are concentrated in the Po Valley) to around 300,000 farms with 12 million cattle would create some environmental sustainability problems...

So let’s come to terms with reality: it’s not possible to double the farms; there’s no more room for cows in the Bel Paese, and thus, Parmesan is not taking away tens of thousands of jobs from Italy.

Parmesan and Reggianito? They have Italian origins!

Speaking of Parmesan, we must address the question of its true origins. Until World War II, a wheel of Parmigiano weighed about 20 kilos, and to preserve it, it was coated with mixtures of oil and ash. Even in the late 1960s, the classic image of Italy's most celebrated cheese was precisely that of a rather small wheel with a black rind. Go back and watch a famous 1965 film, “Don Camillo in Moscow”. You’ll see two scenes where a black-rind wheel of Parmigiano appears. Soft, 20 kilos, and with a black rind... what does it remind us of? Yes, exactly: Wisconsin Parmesan! The explanation is simple: between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, among the millions of Italians who emigrated overseas, there were also people with cheesemaking experience seeking employment in that sector. In the United States, the place with the most cattle farming opportunities for those with such skills was Wisconsin, also known as the "Dairy State." Over time, some of these Italian immigrants, after working for local entrepreneurs, were able to start their own businesses. It’s no coincidence that one of the oldest dairies in Wisconsin is named Sartori, a surname very common in the Po Valley. It was then that our fellow countrymen began to produce the cheese they knew, that is, Parmigiano Reggiano (as well as Grana Padano), as it was made at the time. In the 1930s, they introduced "their" cheese to the market, calling it the closest English name they remembered: "Parmesan." A similar story applies to another allegedly imitation product, "Reggianito," which originated from Italian immigrants in Argentina, again between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The name is a Spanish diminutive of "Reggiano," referring to the small size of the wheels. In the years following World War I, Reggianito became considered by Italian producers a serious competitor to the export of Parmigiano-Reggiano: this was one of the factors that led to the establishment of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium in 1934. Pay attention to the date, which is not coincidental: we’re in the midst of the fascist era, one year after the official announcement of autarky, in full regime propaganda. This propaganda also touched on food production, and in that context, the traditional peasant society to be exalted could not be the one from the late 1800s, impoverished and forced to send its children to America, but the newer, slightly more economically stable one with gastronomic traditions to defend and strengthen. Hence, consortia, festivals, and celebrations related to foods that were meant to represent a specific community, whose origins stretched from Julius Caesar to Mussolini, multiplied.

The extraordinary evolution of Parmigiano

In the United States, Reggianito is still often sold under the name Parmesan, and until the 1960s, Parmigiano and Parmesan remained essentially twin products, with the obvious differences related to raw materials and production locations. However, Parmigiano began to experience an extraordinary evolution: the size of the wheel increased to 40 kilos, and the preservation and aging techniques improved, making the oil and ash mixture obsolete. Its success, well-deserved, was unstoppable, not only in the domestic market but worldwide. An effective marketing strategy, which highlighted its natural qualities, tradition, as well as its undeniable nutritional and taste values, quickly made Parmigiano and Grana Padano two of the most successful Italian products globally.

Parmesan is like the ugly duckling in reverse

And what about Parmesan? Parmesan remained as it was, the cheese most similar to the Parmigiano known by Italians a hundred years ago. So, we’re dealing with a sort of ugly duckling in reverse: at the beginning, it was the same as its siblings, but then it didn’t change while the others did. It kept an old-fashioned flavor and a name that has become burdensome. Moreover, it made a lot of money, like an American uncle who really made it big. And this has caused the relatives left in Italy, though they’ve also become rich, to continue feeling a bit envious and to hold a grudge against him.