How the fuck do you counterfeit cheese? Do you use chocolate milk instead of regular?
The designation “Parmigiano Reggiano” is a protected designation of origin (PDO) in the European Union.
It means that to be able to call a cheese “Parmigiano Reggiano” a producer needs to follow a strict set of rules on how to produce the cheese, how to mature it, how the cows are being fed and it has to be manufactured in a specific area in Italy.
So if someone is making cheese without following the rules and sell it as Parmigiano it would be counterfeit cheese. Just like someone selling lemonade but calling it “Sprite”.
And don’t forget the “origin” part. These designations also include being made in a specific region. You could follow all the rules and exact ingredients for Champagne, but if it’s not made in Champagne, France then you can’t call it Champagne. Same for Cognac, etc.
if it’s not made in Champagne, France then you can’t call it Champagne
Except for some wineries in the Napa Valley in California. https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/loophole-california-champagne-legal/
I’m as territorial and proud of what is made in my country as the next dude but the lengths taken to protect some products, especially by french and italian are ridiculous.
Same for Lambic. For cheese and alcohol the region is important. All of these products have micro cultures or yeast in them. For Lambic, it’s a naturally occurring yeast. If they allow other beers to be produced in that region, then the commercial yeasts will dominate the natural Lambic yeasts in the finished product, and you will end up with a different end result. So the regional specification is a quality control method to ensure you get the exact same microbiology as has been used for hundreds of years.
Just like someone selling lemonade but calling it “Sprite”.
In Australia, we actually do use “lemonade” to refer to drinks like Sprite, lol. We don’t really have the American-style non-carbonated lemonade.
It’s because the use of the name parmigiano reggiano requires that the cheese come from a certain region of Italy (or somewhere in Europe). There’s nothing else special about it. Counterfeit cheese in this case is just the same exact cheese but made elsewhere and likely sold for cheaper.
Source: I work in cheese and also Wikipedia several months back
I’m picturing you as an average office worker, but with a Willy Wonka-esque boss who has replaced all of the furniture with various types of dairy products.
Oh they work ‘in’ cheese, people always misunderstand and think they work in the cheese industry but their office is just often coated in cheese
That’s not exactly true. If you make parmigiano you have to follow pretty strict manufacturing procedures to ensure that the cheeses have the same taste.
It’s pretty much the same thing as a brand except it’s not produced by one structure but several independent structures. The main advantage is that you know what you are getting.
In this case you may be right, but region protected products can be quite ridiculous. For example Bourbon:
- Produced in the U.S. and its Territories (Puerto Rico), as well as the District of Columbia
- Made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn
- Aged in new, charred oak containers
- Distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume)
- Entered into the container for aging at no more than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume)
- Bottled (like other whiskeys) at 80 proof or more (40% alcohol by volume)
(Source Wikipedia)
That’s pretty fucking generic except for the made in USA portion. If I’m not mistaken Champagne has similarly silly restrictions with no significant difference.
How is a microchip edible? Big as a sand grain? How does it work? How long has this tech existed? How many microchips have I eaten? Do they stop working if I eat them?
It’s not edible. The chip is in the packaging. Chipping packaging is normal and the headline is funny but sensational
Now producers have been trialling the most modern of authentication methods – microtransponders about the size of a grain of salt inserted into the labels found on the rind of 120,000 wheels of parmigiano reggiano.
Edit or it might as well be edible no one knows since no ones eaten cheese with the packaging
into the labels found on the rind
The labels are directly on the rind of the cheese - not on a sticker or something.
Still in the rind. Chances of eating it unless you specifically want to eat it are nill
If a tiny chip is embedded in glass or a similar biologically inert coating, and it’s still small enough to pass your intestines without noticing, then it’s edible. RFID can be very small, has no internal power, and only responds to a nearby request ping, which also gives it a few milliseconds of power.
I knew it! It was big cheese all along.
Big pharma was just a ruse!
If you’ve ever actually cooked with authentic parmigiano reggiano you would understand why. It’s absolutely fantastic stuff.
I used to cook with just whatever old cheddar was on sale at the big box stores. Then my father bought me a couple wedges of authentic parmesan and pecorino romano for my birthday. I will never go back. It’s not even comparable. I always have them on hand now.
You’re comparing cheddar to parmigiano. Those are two completely different styles of cheeses. Try the same recipe with a parmigiano and a grana padano, and it will be much closer, and you very well may appreciate the difference in price between the two.
Implying that all cheeses of the same type are roughly equal is insanity if you actually cook. Even between different producers of the same region in the same country you can get wildly different texture, humidity, flavor, behavior when heated, etc.
That wasn’t the implication I was trying to make. I was saying that if you’re used to cooking with cheddar, you don’t replace it with parmigiano, and vice versa. They don’t serve the same purpose in cooking. If you’re cooking carbonara with cheddar, you’re obviously going to be disappointed in the result. If you cook a carbonara with grana padano instead of parmigiano, you’re like 90% of the way there, and most people won’t know the difference. They’re not equivalent but they’re similar.
I understand that those are completely different but most people don’t buy authentic Parmigiano, pecorino romano or grana padano(I need to try this one). They use the regular plain cheese you buy in the big box stores. So to the average person putting a micro chip in a cheese wheel (which I read wasn’t even true) is an absurd notion. But I was pointing out that the regular cheddar/mozzarella the average person buys is bland garbage compared to these cheeses. I think people should try them and they will realize why they care so much about its authenticity.
You might as well say that “Hamburger patties are bland garbage compared to pickles”
Softer cheeses like mozzarella and cheddar have a totally different job than hard cheeses like Romano and Parmesan. Mozzarella and cheddar provide body, texture, a neutral flavor, and lots of calories. Romano and Parmesan provide only flavor, and can be used to complement - not replace - the milder soft cheeses
I agree that people should try them, and they are superior to cheap, mass-produced supermarket cheeses. But even a cheaper imitation parmigiano (I’m not talking about the powdered “cheese” you get in a Kraft bottle) is close enough to “certified” stuff that if you want to save some money, you can approximate it with something nearly equivalent for half the price. And if you don’t have an especially sensitive palate, you may not even be able to tell the difference.
It has so much more flavor! I’ve cooked dishes that I’ve made dozens of times and the only thing I changed was the cheese used. Those dishes tasted better every single time. It’s hard to describe because I also thought that it wouldn’t make much of a difference. But when I tried it, I was blown away.
I’ll never be able to explain it through a comment. I would recommend that everyone at least try it. You can usually find a small wedge of it at some grocery stores, shouldn’t be too expensive. Then make a dish that you’ve made many times but use those cheeses instead. You will see the difference right away.
“Instead”? I’ll be honest man, comparing parmigiano reggiano to cheddar is like comparing dinner rolls to donuts. If switching improved your food, it was user-error, not the cheese
