There is a Difference Many cheeses today are industrially produced and unfortunately, many consumers are not aware of the vast differences between naturally crafted cheeses and industrially produced products. The production of fine cheeses combines art with science, while the production of industrial cheeses is all science and technique. In industrial production, flavor enhancing enzymes are used to start the process. These enzymes burn up sugar from the milk which intensifies and speeds up aging and quickens the process of flavor development. Also, the aging is reduced by a faster reduction of moisture which is squeezed from the cheese.
Traditional cheeses age naturally and for considerably longer periods of time.
Their moisture is reduced slowly. The longer aging, constant turning, cleaning and polishing, produces their fine, natural flavors. The Italians are the masters of making hard grating cheese. This craft can be traced to the Middle Ages and in the 14th Century appeared in the literature of the great Bocaccio de Cameron. Parmigiano Reggiano has been considered so valuable that it was once used as a form of currency.