Parmesan cheese

Parmesan cheese is the name of an Italian extra-hard cheese made of raw cow's milk. 

The original Parmesan cheese is more precisely called Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is produced only in Italy, in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantua (partly) and Bologna (partly). It is usually the cheese to go with Spaghetti and other typical Italian pasta, but it also has many other uses. Parmesan is a part of Italian national cuisine and it can be eaten both grated and in slivers. It is hard, sharp and dry.

Parmigiano-Reggiano is DOP / AOC. This means that the way they are made and the region in Italy they come from are strictly controlled.alt=|thumb|A Parmesan cheese wheel with some bits separate.The brand (Parmigiano Reggiano) is protected, and only in Europe.Case C-132/05 Commission v Germany  European Commission Legal Service, July 2008 In many parts of the world, cheese is sold as Parmesan cheese that has nothing to do with the true (Italian) Parmigiano Reggiano.

The original Parmesan cheese is one of the most expensive cheeses in the world.

 Name 
Within the European Union, the term Parmesan may only be used, by law, to refer to Parmigiano-Reggiano itself, which must be made in a restricted geographic area, using stringently defined methods. In many areas outside Europe, the name "Parmesan" has become genericized: Any one of a number of hard Italian-style grating cheeses are called 'Patmesan'.Oxford Companion to Food, s.v. 'parmesan' After the European ruling that "parmesan" could not be used as a generic name, Kraft renamed its grated cheese "Pamesello" in Europe.

One kind of cheese, which is very similar, but produced in another region in Italy, is Grana Padano. Grana Padano is produced in Lombardy. 

References

 Other websites 

Category:Italian cheeses