  parmigiano-reggiano (; ), or parmesan cheese, is a hard, granular cheese. it is named after the producing areas, which comprise the provinces of parma, reggio emilia, bologna (only the area to the west of the river reno), modena (all in emilia-romagna), and mantova (in lombardia, but only the area to the south of river po), italy. under italian law, only cheese produced in these provinces may be labelled "parmigiano-reggiano", and european law classifies the name, as well as the translation "parmesan", as a protected designation of origin. parmigiano is the italian adjective for parma and reggiano that for reggio emilia. in the u.s., canada, and other countries, the name "parmesan" is generally only used for cheeses similar to parmigiano-reggiano, with the full italian name used for "true" parmigiano-reggiano. most "parmigino-reggiano and parmesan cheese" in the united states is fake.http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2012/11/19/the-dark-side-of-parmesan-cheese-what-you-dont-know-might-hurt-you/ ==production==   parmigiano-reggiano is made from raw cow's milk. the whole milk of the morning milking is mixed with the naturally skimmed milk (which is made by holding milk in large shallow tanks to allow the cream to separate) of the previous evening's milking, resulting in a part skim mixture. this mixture is pumped into copper-lined vats (copper heats and cools quickly). starter whey (containing a mixture of certain thermophilic lactic acid bacteria) is added, and the temperature is raised to 33â35&nbsp;Â°c (91â95&nbsp;Â°f). calf rennet is added,
Brined_cheese Cheeses_with_designation_of_origin_protected_in_the_European_Union Cow\'s-milk_cheeses Cuisine_of_Emilia-Romagna Italian_cheeses Italian_products_with_protected_designation_of_origin Umami_enhancers