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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy

Parmigiano Reggiano

Raw cow milk, part-skimmed by letting the cream rise overnight, is set with yesterday's soured whey and calf rennet in copper vats, cooked to about 55 °C and moulded into twin wheels. The wheels float in brine for about three weeks and age for at least 12 months. Made in 7 steps over 13 months. The longest step, age on wooden shelves, takes at least 12 months (Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano) and runs at 16–18 °C (Coppola R 1997). Salt is 1.5–1.8 % (Coppola R 1997). Lactobacillus helveticus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 12 monthsSet[pr-disc]Age on wooden shelves
Temperature16–18 °CReported[coppola1997][franceschi2021][gatti2008]Age on wooden shelves
Salt1.5–1.8 %Reported[coppola1997]Float in brine
AciditypH 5.2–5.4Reported[bonilauri2026]Lift in linen, cut in two, mould and mark
Fully documentedCheese13 monthsPDO (EU)More extra-hard grana cheesesMore from Italy

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe rules fix the ingredients and steps but not the amounts. A vat makes up to two wheels of at least 30 kg each. The starter and rennet doses are those of one study's make (Franceschi et al. 2021).
Evening milk · Raw cow milk, part-skimmed by letting the cream rise overnight in open basins[pr-disc]
Morning milk · Raw whole cow milk, mixed in the next morning; no heat treatment or additives allowed[pr-disc]
2.5–3 L per 100 kg milkWhey starter (siero-innesto) · Yesterday's sweet whey, soured overnight; adding cultures or nutrients to it is banned[pr-disc][franceschi2021]
2.5–3 g per 100 kg milkCalf rennet · The only coagulant allowed; the dose is one study's (strength 1:120,000)[pr-disc][franceschi2021]
Salt · As brine, 260–280 g per litre in one study[coppola1997]
Starternatural whey starter (siero-innesto) carried over from the previous day's make

Total time across the recorded steps: 13 months

Start
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at least 18 °C

What changes: Cream rises on the evening milk and is skimmed off

Step 1 of 7
Let the evening milk cream overnight
Time
12 h
Reported
Temperature
at least 18 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacilli
Lactobacilli sour

The morning milk is mixed in the next day and may also be skimmed a little the same way. Output: part-skimmed evening milk; the cream goes to butter.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
cream rises to the top
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

native raw-milk flora; the milk is never heated

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

The milk is raw and comes from two milkings, and the evening milk is skimmed only by letting the cream rise. The starter is the dairy's own soured whey with nothing added, calf rennet is the only coagulant, and no additives are allowed. Grana Padano, made the same way over a wider area, may add lysozyme and is aged for less time.

Wheel
PDO rules: 35–43 cm across, 20–26 cm high, at least 30 kg; rind about 6 mm
Fat in dry matter
PDO rules: at least 32 %

Related ferments

Variants

  • Grana Padano PDOWider area; lysozyme allowed (not in Trentingrana); at least 9 months at 15–22 °C.
  • TrentingranaMountain Grana Padano made without lysozyme.
  • Sbrinz AOPSwiss extra-hard cousin.
  • Vacca RossaMade only from Reggiana red cows.

Made the parmigiano reggiano way

Safety

The milk is raw, so the process itself has to remove pathogens. A 2026 review of challenge tests found that the cook at 53–56 °C and the drop to pH 5.2–5.4 cut Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli and S. aureus by more than 4 log within 24–48 h. Mycobacteria die more slowly and need the long ripening. The UK NHS counts hard cheeses, including unpasteurised parmesan, as safe in pregnancy.

Hazards the sources name: Raw-milk pathogens (Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus); challenge tests found them gone within 24–48 h of moulding; Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis; dies more slowly and needs the long ripening.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Commonly traced to Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries of the 12th and 13th centuries.

  1. [pr-disc] Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano, Disciplinare di produzione della DOP Parmigiano Reggiano (production specification)spec
  2. [coppola1997] Coppola R., Nanni M., Iorizzo M., Sorrentino A., Sorrentino E., Grazia L. 1997, Survey of lactic acid bacteria isolated during the advanced stages of the ripening of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Journal of Dairy Research, doi:10.1017/S0022029996002038paper
  3. [franceschi2021] Franceschi P., Malacarne M., Formaggioni P., Faccia M., Summer A. et al. 2021, Effects of milk storage temperature at the farm on the characteristics of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Animals 11:879, doi:10.3390/ani11030879paper
  4. [gatti2008] Gatti M., De Dea Lindner J., De Lorentiis A., Bottari B., Santarelli M., Bernini V., Neviani E. 2008, Dynamics of whole and lysed bacterial cells during Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese production and ripening, Applied and Environmental Microbiology 74:6161–6167paper
  5. [neviani2024] Neviani E. 2024, The natural whey starter used in the production of Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheeses, Microorganisms 12:2443paper
  6. [martini2024] Martini S., Sola L., Cattivelli A., Cristofolini M., Pizzamiglio V., Tagliazucchi D., Solieri L. 2024, Cultivable microbial diversity, peptide profiles, and bio-functional properties in Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Frontiers in Microbiology 15:1342180paper
  7. [bonilauri2026] Bonilauri P., Rosamilia A., Benedetti S., Daminelli P., Losio M.N. et al. 2026, Can the Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano production process guarantee a reduction in pathogenic microorganisms equivalent to the pasteurization process?, Italian Journal of Food Safety 15(1)paper
  8. [gp-disc] Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano, Disciplinare di produzione della DOP Grana Padano, 2022spec
  9. [nhs-preg] NHS (UK), Foods to avoid in pregnancy (cheese section)gov