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ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINAA CULTURAL INSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ITALY

FOUNDED IN 1953 BY ORIO VERGANI

www.accademia1953.it

CIVILTÀDELLATAVOLAACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

INTERNATIONAL

EDITION

CdT_290_COVER_INGLESE_Acca 09/02/17 12:08 Pagina 1

FOCUS2 An Academy with a big heart (Paolo Petroni)

CULTURE AND RESEARCH3 Marinades (Gianni Di Giacomo)

5 Nutrition and DNA (Giuseppe Fioritoni)

7 Two prestigious products (Marco Manzini)

On the cover: Graphic elaboration of Bottle andFruit Dish (1920) by Juan Gris, KunstmuseumWinterthur, Switzerland.

PAGE 1

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

FEBRUARY 2017 / N. 290

EDITOR IN CHIEFPAOLO PETRONI

COPY EDITORSILVIA DE LORENZO

LAYOUTSIMONA MONGIU

TRANSLATORANTONIA FRASER FUJINAGA

THIS ISSUE INCLUDES ARTICLES BYGianni Di Giacomo,Giuseppe Fioritoni,

Marco Manzini,Paolo Petroni.

� � �

PUBLISHERACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

VIA NAPO TORRIANI 31 - 20124 MILANOTEL. 02 66987018 - FAX 02 66987008

[email protected]@[email protected]

www.accademia1953.it

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MONTHLY MAGAZINEREG. N. 4049 - 29-5-1956

TRIBUNALE DI MILANO

Rivista associataall’Unione StampaPeriodica Italiana

L’ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINAFOUNDED IN 1953 BY ORIO VERGANI

AND LUIGI BERTETT, DINO BUZZATI TRAVERSO,CESARE CHIODI, GIANNINO CITTERIO,

ERNESTO DONÀ DALLE ROSE, MICHELE GUIDO FRANCI,GIANNI MAZZOCCHI BASTONI, ARNOLDO MONDADORI, ATTILIO NAVA, ARTURO ORVIETO, SEVERINO PAGANI,

ALDO PASSANTE, GIANLUIGI PONTI, GIÒ PONTI,DINO VILLANI, EDOARDO VISCONTI DI MODRONE,

WHIT MASSIMO ALBERINI AND VINCENZO BUONASSISI.

CIVILTÀDELLATAVOLAACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

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S O M M A R I OT A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

F C U S

T he first earthquake on the 24th of August 2016 wasimmediately named ‘the Amatrice earthquake’, eventhough other, far less famous townships (Accumoli

and Arquata del Tronto) were severely affected. The town ofAmatrice was indeed known throughout the world as thebirthplace of the famous Amatriciana pasta recipe. Solidarityflared up immediately among celebrity and run-of-the-millchefs alike, as well as the many restaurateurs who donatedto the Municipality of Amatrice a portion of all revenuegained from consumers ordering Amatriciana. The tremorswere horrifying, but some structures had remained standing,such as the building housing the Amatrice Hotel Institute,which, though damaged, seemed salvageable. With lesshaste but more substance, the Academy decided on a moredecisive and focused effort, associating its support with itsEcumenical Dinner last October. Sadly, the second majortremor of the 30th of October, felt as far as Venice, where theAcademic Advisory Council was in session, delivered thecoup de grâce to the towns initially struck, and extendedthe horror to the areas of Norcia and Macerata. Towns werereduced to rubble and their prospects of reconstruction arestill uncertain, other than their high likelihood of draggingon for years. Accompanied by the Delegates of the strickenareas, we visited those regions to verify the list of namessuggested as recipients of our aid. Twenty deserving nameswere selected among restaurants,small producers and breeders. Ourfundraising exceeded our most op-timistic expectations and our Aca-demy’s big heart was able to amassthe sum of 91,943 Euros, to whichwe will add the 10,000 Euros fromthe Orio Vergani Prize, destined tothe Amatrice Hotel Institute, nowtransferred to Rieti where it will re-main for goodness knows how long.Let us have no illusions: after thequakes of last October and in Januaryof this year, who knows if any re-staurants, and if so, how many, willever be able to reopen in Amatriceand the other towns affected by the

disaster? With the funds gathered by the Corriere della Seranewspaper and the TGLa7 news, a beautiful ‘Food Village’will be built and populated with restaurants and shops, asdesigned by the architect Stefano Boeri. But 20% of theequipment will have to be financed by the retailers themselves(or so it seems, though the three Regions appear to have dif-ferent policies regarding this), and therefore our supportwill be crucial for some of them. Our donations will particularlyfavour certain cattle and sheep breeders who have been un-believably and shamefully abandoned with no shelter fortheir animals, who are dying in their thousands in the snow,unable to drink the frozen water or find any food. Our assi-stance, however small in comparison with the enormity ofthe disaster, will surely attain the goal of providing at leastsome of them with concrete and psychological aid. Unlessexceptionally dire circumstances intervene, by February theAcademy will deliver all the funds to its recipients in Amatrice,where they will gather in a marquee made available by thelocal Municipality. What we found on the 11th of Januarywas a climate of despondency but considerable dignity andresolution to start anew. The seemingly endless successionof tremors during the past few days, combined with snowand a sense of abandonment, have dramatically heightenedthe urgency of the situation, such that the delivery of the re-sources gathered can in no wise be delayed.

An Academy with a big heartDonations gathered will soon be distributed: a signal for the future to a stricken population.

A Delegation from the Academy, led by the President, meets some of the donation recipients in a container.

BY PAOLO PETRONIPresident of the Academy

S O M M A R I OC U L T U R E & R E S E A R C H

Marination is a techniquewhich often precedes orsubstitutes heat-based coo-

king. The term derives from ‘acquamarina’ (meaning ‘sea water’) and‘marination’ originally meant ‘immer-sion in sea water’, referring to brine.Brines are solutions of sea salt (sodiumchloride) and saltpetre (potassium ni-trate), supplemented by aromatic herbsand spices, intended to preserve food.Other terms for marinades include ‘insaor’, ‘in carpione’, ‘scapece’, ‘scabeccio’and ‘cheviche’.Marinades are liquids containing aro-matic elements, acidifiers or oils, inwhich meat, fish or vegetables are im-mersed. This is done for various rea-sons. Firstly it can prevent hardeningor loss of flavour potentially causedby subsequent cooking methods. Ad-ditionally, some foods, including certaincuts of meat, are initially very toughor dry, and marination can help to ten-

derise them or render them more di-gestible. Others, finally, can initiallyhave unpleasant or overly strong fla-vours, such as some types of game,and marinades can reduce gaminessand improve flavour. A marinade ge-nerally consists of four ingredient ca-tegories. Acidifiers: vinegar, lemon,wine, beer etc. Acidifiers denature pro-teins, tenderising ingredients and ren-dering them more permeable to otherflavours. Oils: generally only extra-vir-gin olive oil is used. Oil causes moistureretention, reducing the risk of dryingduring cooking. Seasonings: spices,herbs, and other substances which addflavour. Sauces: for example, soya, bar-becue or Worcestershire sauce, which,according to their properties, may alsoreplace other ingredients. Indeed, asauce can add flavour, tenderise meatand retain moisture. Marinades can be raw or cooked. Acooked marinadewill often be retained

throughout the cooking process, be-coming an indispensable ingredientnot only in preparation but during theentire preparation of the dish. Rawmarination, instead, ‘cooks’ withoutheat: the process lasts longer and isused chiefly for fish. The acid of themarinade ‘cooks’ the fish by acting onits albumin: the flesh becomes paler,more compact and more strongly fla-voured. The times involved vary ac-cording to the food to be marinated,but the main difference depends onthe type of marinade: if cooked, a brieftime suffices, from half an hour to afew hours; if raw, as long as 24 to 36hours may be necessary. Broadly, forcooked marinades, marination timeshould be about 4 to 6 hours for bovineor ovine flesh (beef, mutton, goat etc),between 2 and 4 hours for pork orfowl, 1 to 2 hours for fish, and half anhour to an hour for vegetables. Gameis a different story: its marination timescan vary from several hours to severaldays. It is therefore necessary to know,when purchasing meat, whether it iswild or farmed. If using the marinade as a gravy, onemust remember that this can only bedone for lengthy cooking at high tem-perature - in the oven or on the grill,therefore. If the marinated ingredientsare to be merely sautéed, it is best thatthe marinade be removed beforehand.The classic recipe for a cooked marinadefor a kilogramme of meat is as follows:wash and coarsely chop carrots, onionsand parsley and brown them in half aglass of extra-virgin olive oil with bayleaves and marjoram. Add a litre ofdry wine, salt and pepper. Allow to

BY GIANNI DI GIACOMOChieti Academician

Protecting health when cooking on the grill.

Marinades


simmer for five minutes and then tran-sfer to a container, cover and allow tocool. Once cooled, pour it over themeat and allow to rest for the requiredamount of time (depending on thetype of meat). Then cook according toone’s recipe.For fish, such as ‘pesce in carpione’(sweet and sour marinated fish), boilwhite vinegar for approximately tenminutes with several chopped clovesof garlic and rosemary. Pour the resul-ting liquid, still piping hot, over thefish after it has been fried, and allowit to rest. For ‘scapece alla vastese’ (sca-pece - the Italian cousin of escabeche -Vasto style), boil the vinegar, add saf-fron, allow to cool and pour over thefish. A raw marinade for meat calls for twocarrots, two celery stalks, a large onion,and parsley leaves to be finely choppedand combined with three cloves, five

peppercorns, two bay leaves,a moderate amount of salt,6 juniper berries, and threequarters of a litre of excellentdry wine. The resulting mix-ture must be poured over themeat.For fish, the ingredients are:lemon juice, wine vinegar,fruit vinegar, oil, salt, seaso-nings (pepper, coriander),chilli pepper, onion, and gar-lic. Fish traditionally used for

pickling, such as anchovies and squid,must be marinated for at least an hourbefore being served. Prepare an emul-sion with three tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, very finely choppedparsley, and a tablespoon of whitewine vinegar or lemon juice and seasalt. Shellfish such as mussels, clamsand cockles must, instead, be seasonedat the last moment, with extra-virginolive oil, lemon juice and black pepper.Salmon carpaccio must be marinatedwith thyme, two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, a tablespoon of limejuice, and salt flakes. Tuna carpacciocan be marinated with two tablespoonsof extra-virgin olive oil, one tablespoonof grapefruit juice, white pepper andblack salt. Swordfish carpaccio mustbe marinated with pink pepper, wildfennel, smoked salt, two tablespoonsof extra-virgin olive oil and one table-spoon of tangerine juice. For steak tar-

tare, there is a marinade which bringsout its flavour: this is a sauce made offreshly grated ginger, two tablespoonsof extra-virgin olive oil, one tablespoonof orange juice, black salt, sesame andthyme. Whisk all these together andpour over the tartare half an hourbefore serving.Crucially, marination also helps to neu-tralise the negative health effects ofgrilling. The risks inherent in this coo-king method are twofold: firstly, whenred meat as well as pork, fowl or fishare cooked at high temperatures, theirproteins are converted into heterocyclicamines (HCAs), which are correlatedwith several types of tumours. Secondly,polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) are found in the smoke formedwhen the fat and juices of meat dripon to the heat source. That smoke mayadhere to the surface of the meat andcontaminate it, rendering it potentiallycarcinogenic. Research has confirmedthat the formation of such substancesin meat prepared in this manner canbe reliably minimised through a mari-nade consisting of extra-virgin oliveoil, lemon juice, and antioxidant-richand preferably fresh seasonings suchas chilli pepper, sage, basil, mint, garlic,tarragon, origano, thyme and rosemary,the latter items being indispensable,as they are considered the most potentanti-carcinogenic agents on this list.

GIANNI DI GIACOMO

ECUMENICAL DINNER 2016The ecumenical dinner, which gathers all Academicians in Italy and abroad around the same virtual

table, will occur on the 19th of October at 8:30 PM, and its theme will be “cheese intraditional regional cuisine”. This theme was chosen by the “Franco Marenghi” Stu-dy Centre and approved by the President’s Council to celebrate an ingredient

which is abundant and varied in Italy, and which stars or has a supporting ro-le in numerous traditional regional recipes as well as innovative dishes. The

Delegates will make sure that the menu pays homage to the starring ingredientand that the dinner is accompanied by an appropriate cultural presentation to illustrate

this important subject.


T he theme of nutrition and healthhas great current relevance, fuel-ling scientific debate and recei-

ving considerable attention from healthauthorities and the press.Nutrition-linked diseases are a seriousthreat to public health, and in Italy, asin Europe overall, countermeasures arein place, within and beyond the purviewof health agencies. By vocation, Academicians have alwaysbeen stewards of good food and cuisine,but to improve their food culture theyshould, in my opinion, also further in-vestigate the link between food andhealth. As early as 1862, the German philosopherLudwig Feuerbach maintained, in hisThe Mystery of Sacrifice, or Man is WhatHe Eats, that our physical, spiritual andmental health derives from the qualityof the nutrients that we absorb, fromtheir hidden virtues and from their in-herent properties. Such assertions, once

based on empirical observation, alsohave years of medical corroboration tosupport them, scientifically demonstra-ting the link between food and illness. The newly emerging disciplines in thefield of nutrition, such as epigenetics,nutraceutics, nutrigenetics and nutrige-nomics, investigate the interaction andeffects of nutrients and phytochemicalcompounds on the structure and fun-ctional activities of DNA as well as therole of food and calories on longevityand the future possibility of a personaliseddiet based on one’s genetic parameters. In developed countries, humans have alife expectancy greater than 80 years,and over their lifetimes they may ingestup to 30 or 40 tonnes of food and severalkilogrammes of food additives, pesticides,antibiotics, toxic substances and foodcontaminants. This is a huge amount ofsubstances and nutrients, whose effectson our health are far more complex andfar-reaching than was imagined even

in the recent past. Food is more thanjust energy, calories, taste and pleasure.What we ingest produces information,triggering molecular signals which reachour cells and can modify and subverttheir normal functions.Nutrients undertake a dialogue withour genetic material consisting of thou-sands of genes, which are short segmentsof DNA containing information regula-ting cell function. On the one hand, ge-nes influence the way in which our or-ganism absorbs nutrients, while on theother, nutrients can modify gene ex-pression and function.Epigenetics is the study of the exogenousfactors which determine stable, but re-versible, changes in gene expression wi-thout altering the original DNA sequence.In addition to environmental pollution,genetic factors, and lifestyle, nutrientscan be responsible for DNA damage oraffect genes by activating or silencingthem, with effects on our health.Nutraceutics (a neologism combining‘nutrition’ and ‘pharmaceutics’) investi-gates the possible health benefits offood.Nutraceutical substances, also termed‘functional nutrients/foods’, ‘nutrain-gredients’ or ‘pharmaconutrients’, arefresh or processed substances in ourdaily diet which are rich in natural activeingredients and have curative or bene-ficial health properties, and are able toimprove well-being, quality of life orphysical or psychological performanceor to reduce the risk of disease (EuropeanFood Information Council - EUFIC).The term ‘functional foods’ arose inJapan in the 1980s to describe nutrientschosen specifically to improve health or

BY GIUSEPPE FIORITONIPescara Delegate

How food influences our genes.

Nutrition and DNA


THE ACADEMY SILVER PLATEAn elegant silver plated dish engraved with the Academy logo. This symbolic object may be presented to restaurants that displayexceptional service, cuisine and hospitality. Delegates may contact the Milan Headquarters

([email protected]) for more information and orders.

combat illness to reduce medical costsfor an ageing population with an in-creased life expectancy. In 1991, theJapanese Ministry of Health, Labourand Welfare identified a category ofsubstances termed FOSHU (Foods forSpecified Health Use) and establishedcriteria for their commercialisation. Fun-ctional foods are those which containminerals, vitamins, fatty acids, fibre, orplant-derived active ingredients, andare classified as:� Probiotics: live bacteria (e.g. Lacto-bacilli, Bifidobacteria) contained in yo-ghurt;� Prebiotics: indigestible short-chaincarbohydrates (inulin, lactulose, lactilol)found in fruit and vegetables, which sti-mulate the growth of useful bacteria al-ready present in the gut.� Vitamins A, C, D, E, and K and B-group vitamins: molecules which werequire in limited quantities, cannot pro-duce, and obtain through food. Theyhave several biochemical properties andcan regulate metabolism and cell growth. � Vegetable extracts: carotenoids, po-lyphenols and anthocyanins, which areantioxidants contained in fruits and ve-getables, and anticarcinogens found inplants (cabbage, Savoy cabbage, broccoli,Brussels sprouts, watercress, turnip, cau-liflower, garlic, soya) called glucosino-lates. Dietary phytochemicals such assulphoraphane (broccoli), resveratrol(red grapes), quercetin (apples, tea, ce-lery, capers, berries), and luteolin (fennel,celery, sage, carrots, peppers, dandelion)are also studied for their antioxidant,anti-inflammatory and antitumoral pro-

perties and their ability to modulategene expression and function. Further-more, curcumin (from turmeric), es-sential oils and gingerol (from ginger)possess potent antioxidant, anti-inflam-matory, antibacterial and anticarcino-genic properties and may also combatAlzheimer’s disease.� Lastly, there are omega-3s and mi-nerals (including zinc, selenium, ma-gnesium, copper and calcium).Nutrigenetics studies the genetic dif-ferences (polymorphisms) which causedifferent reactions to the same nutrientsin different individuals, as well as thereasons for food sensitivities and reducedcapacity to metabolise any given ingre-dient.Molecular biology studies indicate thathaving one variant of a single nucleotide(defined as SNP: Single Nucleotide Po-lymorphism) can cause a predispositionto diabetes and some forms of cancer,and can elevate the risk of thrombosisand heart disease.Some genes can cause variations inathletic performance following muscledamage wrought by free radicals pro-duced by exercise. In such cases, con-sumption before and after exercise offoods naturally rich in vitamins A, Cand E and selenium, such as blueberryor pomegranate juice, citrus fruits, al-monds, or sunflower seeds, could beuseful for reducing muscular damage. Nutrigenomics studies food’s effectson DNA. Molecules released when di-gesting a nutrient may reach a cell’s nu-cleus and modify genes over time. Adormant gene may thereby be activated,

or an active one silenced, shutting offits protein production.According to José Ordovás, director ofthe Nutrition and Genomics Laboratoryof Tufts University in Boston, within adecade we might be able to use a smallsaliva sample to identify an individual’sideal combination of nutrients for optimalhealth and disease prevention: menuspersonalised according to DNA.There has been interesting researchabout the correlation between nutritionand longevity. Some genes appear toinfluence longevity, while others - ge-rontogens - appear to accelerate ageing.Professor Pierluigi Pelicci of the EuropeanOncology Institute in Milan has demon-strated that caloric restriction deactivatesthe gene p66shc in mice, extending theirlifespan by 30%.It is plausible that humans too can in-crease their lifespan, perhaps to 120-130 years, by silencing those genes. Nu-trition can silence genes which causeageing and stimulate those which pro-mote longevity.In the not too distant future, knowledgeof genetics applied to nutrition mayallow specialists in the field to personalisefood charts to prevent illnesses or faci-litate therapies for complex metabolic,neurodegenerative, cardiovascular andneoplastic diseases.A more health-aware approach to dailyfood habits can only be beneficial, butit should not hinder our pleasure in en-joying dishes prepared according to ourbest culinary traditions whenever wehave the chance.

GIUSEPPE FIORITONI


I n 2015, UNESCO granted Parmathe title of Creative City of Gastro-nomy. The surrounding territory

consists of small and fragmented butcomplementary parcels of agriculturalland, and this translates into considerablebiodiversity, which then facilitates andsustains the production of two of Italy’smost important products among the283 PDO (‘Protected Designation ofOrigin, or DOP in Italian) foodstuffs:Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan fromthe Reggio Emilia area) and Parmaham. These are widely renowned products,but it may be worth repeating thatParma ham is a cured and aged porkleg. To acquire that name, rather thanbeing merely designated as ‘ham’, andto earn the Parma Ham Consortium’sfive-pointed crown emblem, the hammust satisfy the criteria established bythe Consortium itself: it must be obtainedfrom animals raised in Italy and belon-

ging only to the Large White, Landraceor Duroc breeds, at least nine monthsold, fed a special diet of cereals, grainsand milk whey derived from the pro-duction of Parmigiano Reggiano. Theham must undergo a long and specificageing process (consisting of ten stagesfrom cutting to branding) in a geogra-phically defined area of the Parma hills;it must be aged for a minimum of 12months beginning from the date of sal-ting, and in some cases, up to 3 years.It must also be entirely natural: the re-gulations categorically forbid any ad-dition of preservatives or other additivessuch as colouring agents, nitrites andnitrates. The only ingredients must the-refore be: Italian pork leg, natural seaor rock salt (Halite), air and time! Fol-lowing the curing process, one Parmaham will weigh approximately 9 kg(less if deboned). Prices for consumersmay vary between 200 and 400 Eurosapiece. After being properly prepared,

it is cut by hand or with a mechanicalham slicer, and served in thin slices.Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard cheese,suitable for grating, derived from cow’smilk. It has an excellent internationalreputation both from the culinary andthe nutritional standpoints: it is tellingthat all international space programmesmandate its presence in the astronauts’diet. To be termed ‘Parmigiano Reggiano’and bear the seal of the ParmigianoReggiano Consortium, the cheese mustbe made exclusively of natural milk(without additives) obtained from cowsborn (though this regulation is not yetin force) and raised in the five provincesaround Reggio Emilia, of which fourare in Emilia Romagna (including thoseof Parma and Reggio Emilia) and oneis in Lombardy (Mantova). They musthave been fed only with natural forage(silage and commercial fodder are for-bidden). The cheese’s ingredients mustbe only fresh milk (drawn from only

BY MARCO MANZINIAtlanta Delegate

The latest characteristics, regulations and production data on Parma ham and Parmigiano Reggiano, among the most counterfeited foods in the world.

Two prestigious products


two milkings, in the morning and eve-ning), salt, and natural rennet. Thejourney between the stable and thedairy must not last more than two hours(and no more than twenty hours mustelapse between milking and initiationof cheese production), without the milkbeing chilled at any temperature below18 degrees Celsius before the cheese-making process begins.Following an ageing period of 12 to 30months, a ‘wheel’ of Parmigiano Reg-giano will weigh approximately 40 kg.Prices for consumers are around 20 to25 Euros per kilogramme, and it is no-teworthy that production and price areboth growing, respectively, by 6.2%and 2.8% a year.What do Parma ham and ParmigianoReggiano have in common? They areassociated with the same territory (Par-ma and environs); they have the same‘minimum age’ (a year); they were gran-ted PDO recognition in 1996; regulationadherence by the respective Consortiais monitored and guaranteed throughquality control and branding; and theyare free of preservatives and additivesother than natural salt throughout pro-cessing.For both, it would be best to speak oftwo contiguous and communicating‘worlds’, namely: the capital-intensivesphere (agricultural businesses and li-vestock farms, processing plants andcuring facilities) and the financial aspect(investing today, but beginning to sellonly a year later). They are labour in-tensive, requiring sometimes very spe-cialised workers in some of their pro-duction stages; and they are economi-cally and logistically interdependent,for instance through the use of wheyobtained from Parmigiano Reggianoproduction as an essential ingredientin the diet of the hogs used for Parmaham, to whose flesh it imparts the cha-racteristic ‘hazelnut aroma’ then foundin the Parma ham itself. They are bothvitally important to the economy of theentire area, and cause the creation andmaintenance of many jobs. To provide some notion of the economicweight of these two ‘worlds’, one need

only recall that, for Parma ham, 4,200breeding facilities convey over 8 millionhogs each year to 120 abattoirs, whichin turn supply 148 curing plants in theprovince of Parma. These produce about9 million branded hams a year, for atotal value of approximately 800 millionEuros (corresponding to an approximatesales value of 1,700 million Euros). Itis estimated that 3,000 jobs (in a pro-vince of 450,000 inhabitants) are ge-nerated by this activity. 32% of the pro-duct is exported: about 580,000 of thesehams go to the United States each year.Interestingly, almost 1.5 million of thesehams are sold packaged into smaller‘pre-sliced’ servings. This format is po-pular in the USA, the nation which im-ports the greatest quantities of Parmaham.As for Parmigiano Reggiano, this cheeseaccounts for 135,000 out of the 435,000tonnes of total Italian yearly cheese pro-duction, taking second place after itscousin, Grana Padano, which accountsfor 185,000 tonnes. Third place goes togorgonzola with ‘only’ 53 tonnes.Production of Parmigiano Reggiano

‘involves’ 245,000 cows in 3,272 bree-ding facilities and absorbs 15% of Italianmilk production - 550 litres of milk arenecessary for producing one 40-kg‘wheel’ of cheese - and the milk is con-veyed to 353 cheesemaking facilities,which in turn produce 3.3 million chee-ses a year (1.1 million in the provinceof Parma alone) against 4.8 ‘wheels’ ofGrana Padano. Export of Parmigiano Reggiano, wholeor grated, amounts to 46,900 tonnes,or 35% of total production. The valueof the total product (from the cheese-making facility to sale) exceeds 980million Euros, which translate into 2.2million Euros at the final sale point.Sadly, these two industries suffer greatlyfrom the free circulation of all thevarious parmesan, parmesano, reggianito,parmigian etc all over the world, inclu-ding those counterfeit versions whichdon’t even bother to ‘retouch’ the originalname and unhesitatingly use Italiansymbols and images, such as the Co-losseum or the red, white and green ofthe Italian flag, to fool consumers.

MARCO MANZINI

civi lt À tavola · wine, beer etc. acidifiers denature pro - teins, tenderising ingredients and...

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