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Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

foodandwine.com

171–180 of 317 posts

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#171
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canned tomatoes? Yikes. If you’re trying to beat premise sauces at least get some local fresh tomatoes and have a go and making it from scratch. The acidic flavour of canned tomatoes is horrible in my opinion compared to fresh tomatoes.

Fresh tomatoes are Usally pretty bland 11 months of the year. So canned is the way to go because they are ripe when canned and retain most of the flavors

You seem to mean off-season where you're saying fresh.

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#172

OT, but I just have to say, as someone who buys "Parmesan" cheese that typically hails from Wisconsin, there is just no comparison with legit Parmigiano-Reggiano. It's the same with "Gruyere" and Gruyère -- a wholly unique cheese with a depth of flavor and character that is just inimitable, no matter how good or faithful the imitation may be. That being said, I'm not ashamed at all to say that the Parmesan I use most…

My most common consumption method for Parmigiano-Reggiano is standing in front of my fridge at 2am breaking chunks off the wedge, with a squeeze bottle of honey and whatever berries I have on hand. Can recommend.

A lot of cheeses benefit from very thin slicing - it emphasizes the crystallization of Parmigiano Regiano, the creaminess of a Havarti, or the everything of an Applewood smoked cheddar.

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In New Jersey at least, King's supermarkets sell chopped up rind in small containers. Source: my Italian mom buys them for me and I munch on them all the time.

Doesn't the rind have wax? (same as candle wax)

Some cheeses do, but I've never seen it on Parmigian.

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#174
post #22

I am all for trademarks. But 'only things made here can have this name' is silly protectionism. Adding electronics to 'fix fraud' really is just worsening the original product. If this goes through I would prefer the fraudulent stuff over the real deal.

You are free to buy or produce a hard dry sheep's cheese that isn't made in Emilia-Romagna. The name 'Parmesan' is a portmanteau of parts of the region (Parma, Reggio Emilia). The name is the region so saying 'only thing made here can have *the name of the region*' is absolutely not "silly protectionism".

Parmesan is cow's milk cheese. You're thinking of Pecorino Romano, which is made with sheep's milk ("pecorino" is Italin for "from sheep").

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#175
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but the whole point here is that central authorities authenticate the cheese

So your comment + the ones upstream mean that the consortium "Parmigiano Reggiano" could just handle the whole thing with their own "private & classical" database? If yes then that would mean that anybody that deals with "Parmigiano Reggiano"-based-products would have to request some kind of access (userid&pwd, or some ssl-certificate, etc...) and submit transactions (basically like a mini-bank only for this specific…

Ah, okay; yes, if allowing untrusted parties to execute transactions is a goal, then blockchain might make sense.

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#176
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why?

Because irrational fears aren't driven by in depth analysis they are driven by fitting in with a theme. If people play telephone pretty soon the tracking chips instead of being in the rind will be said to be in the cheese and either they will be used to remotely terminate undesirables* or tracked from a satellite. * People who put too much salt in their sauce.

Well if it means the conspiracy theorists avoid cheese, there's all the more for the rest of us

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In New Jersey at least, King's supermarkets sell chopped up rind in small containers. Source: my Italian mom buys them for me and I munch on them all the time.

Doesn't the rind have wax? (same as candle wax)

Nothing really wrong with consuming limited quantities of candle wax.

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#178

OT, but I just have to say, as someone who buys "Parmesan" cheese that typically hails from Wisconsin, there is just no comparison with legit Parmigiano-Reggiano. It's the same with "Gruyere" and Gruyère -- a wholly unique cheese with a depth of flavor and character that is just inimitable, no matter how good or faithful the imitation may be. That being said, I'm not ashamed at all to say that the Parmesan I use most…

Try aging your supermarket-bought cheese (the non-AOP parmesan and gruyere). You can do so in your kitchen fridge, but stick the cheeses in a small plastic container with a tight-fitting lid because they need high moisture (at least 70% - and that's relative moisture). Open the box when you see condensation forming on its walls and wipe it down with a paper towel. Then close it again. That's about all the work you ne…

Is there a faster way to age parmesan?

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adding it to risotto isn’t eating it? What are you doing with YOUR risotto?!

> Plop the rinds into your next tomato sauce, ragù, or soup and let it simmer. Remove whatever is left of the rind just before serving. > Make your risotto even richer with the addition of the rinds! Put the rinds in the risotto after it's halfway done cooking. Let everything simmer as you stir and add more broth. Remove the rinds before serving.

I always plan to remove the rind but find that it has completely dissolved.

Re: Parmigiano Reggiano makers embedding tiny trackers in rind to fight cheese fraud

#180
post #84
post #15

I'm curious to know which cheesemakers are using these chips. If you look at a wheel of Parmigiano (a whole one), you will see a number stamped on it. That's the cheesemaker's matriculation number in the consortium. There are 313 active ones right now. Some of them are very big (especially the ones in the lowlands) and some of them are very small (mostly the ones up in the hills). The small cheesemakers have trouble…

I love the fact about them being coops and having the ability to borrow with their cheese as collateral. It is so old world and so wholesome. I'd like to borrow against my cheese one day.

It's common for plant farmers in smaller countries too. I interviewed at a company that wanted to help banks lend to tiny farmers who have to borrow against future harvests to afford fertilizer / seed / equipment maintenance for the season ahead. Since many of these small farmers are geographically and technologically a long way off from where the banks are at, they don't get great rates because the banks (currently) don't have great tools for assessing the risk of any particular family farm.
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