I have never seen so much cheese!

Sooooo many wheels of cheese! Yes, we had to wear this in the cheese factory. Our full outfit included hats/ hair nets, a cape, booties for our shoes, and an optional mask.

PARMIGIANO REGGIANO: 4 AM comes way too quickly... We had to be on the bus at 5:15 AM so we set our alarms for 4:15am but of course I snoozed it three times until Emily finally turned on the light at 4:30! We quickly got ready and made the 20 minute hike to the bus! I wondered why they made us get up so early when we were only going to Parma & Modena which is only about 2 hours away but we realized when we made it to Parma that the reason they had us get up so early is so that we could see the entire process of cheese making. The cheese making process actually starts at 5 AM though when they go around to all the different farms and collect the cow's milk. (The cows are milked twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening). There are over 270,000 cows that produce the milk that go into making the Parmigiano Reggiano and it takes about 158.5 gallons of milk to make one wheel of cheese. The cheese making process then begins in these in huge copper cauldrons where a natural whey starter is added, then a natural enzyme from the stomach of the suckling calves is added which causes the milk to curdle, it is then cooked and lifted into a huge mass and then divided into two parts and then placed into a special mold "fascera" where it rests for 2 to 3 days. It is then salted, or placed in a brine (a solution of water and salt) for about 20 days. The cheese is then aged for 2 years or more. We saw cheese in the factory that dated 2007. The minimum period of aging is 1 year where it is then inspected. Only if it passes does it then receive the application of the Certification Mark, it is an oval mark which reads "Parmigiano-Reggiano Consorzio Tutela" and includes the year of production. At the end of the tour, we got to try some cheese and were given goodie bags with a free cheese knife!
Sooooo much pig!

Our Lunch: A plate full of Prosciutto.

PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA: After the cheese factory, we then transferred to the Salumificio La Perla to learn all the stages of the production of the worldwide famous "Prosciutto di Parma". Our tasting lunch was based on typical delicacies from the farm. The Prosciutto factory was very small and up in the hills/ mountains. Some of my pictures on Facebook show how much snow there was. The factory is only run by 4 guys (2 of which are brothers). They must go home smelling horrible at the end of the day because at one point, the smell of the meat became unbearable. All the girls had their scarves wrapped up around their faces. The meat is held on these cart type things which are connected the ceiling system and run through like a metal track on the ceiling from room to room. There are different stages of the prosciutto process which involve different room temperatures and levels of salting. It is actually a very long process and it takes almost a year from beginning to end (when we are able to eat it). My attention span was running low at this point and I could not stand the smell and our tour guide at the factory spoke no English so he would talk and then our school tour leader would have to translate after everything he said. Following the tour, we had a lunch tasting which was basically more cheese, bread, and a plate full of meat! I like meat but I can only handle so much. It was especially not appetizing after seeing the process.

These are the barrels in which the vinegar is kept. They are not completely closed but rather covered with cloth to keep out dust and bugs but still allows the vinegar to breathe.

BALSAMIC VINEGAR: We then transferred to Acetaia Malpighi in Modena where we learned how the real, unique balsamic vinegar is made. Above are the barrels in which the vinegar is kept for a minimum of one year up to 25 years. YES, it's really that long. We were able to try all the different vinegars. We first tried a fruit vinegar which you put on fruit and chicken and other light meats and it was really good. We also tried a white vinegar and then another vinegar which had been aged for 6 years and then we also tried the 12 year old vinegar and then the 25 year old vinegar. They were all very good and not anything like the commercially produced balsamic vinegar that you buy in the grocery stores. The 25 year old bottle of balsamic vinegar (100mL) cost 47 euro which sounds like a lot but it is the traditional balsamic vinegar and is only made and found in Modena and if bought online or in other places where it is exported to, it is a lot more expensive than 47 euro.

Towards the end of the day we were all exhausted because we had been up since 4 am and on and off the bus six times, we were ready to head back to Florence!