Murray'S Cheese Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Aged 5 Years

Parm comes in all shapes and sizes, and we're not even considering the stuff in cans when we say this. But some Parmigiano Reggiano is exceptional: smaller producer, better milk, more conscientious cheesemaking. Giorgio and Gianluca Bonati run a small dairy farm in Parma with fewer than 100 cows. Depending on the yield of their herd, there is enough milk for about 4 wheels a day. Giorgio and Gianluca feed the cows a very special and specific diet consisting mostly of corn flakes, orzo, oats, dried fava beans and soy, providing a rich, flavorful supermilk that accentuates all the goodness of what Parm can be. And that is: a barrage of sweet, salt, spice, and nuttiness; that butter, that little crunch, that caramel finish. The white patches that are visible throughout the interior of the cheese are not salt, as one might expect, but are amino acids that cluster together during aging. They lend a distinctive crunch in the mouth. Like all Parmigiano Reggiano, this one is raw cow milk, and aged for 5 years. You never quite what you'll get until you whack the wheel open!