Let’s be honest. Who WOULDN’T want to tour prosciutto and cheese factories? Well, maybe a vegan. Nonetheless, if you love a charcuterie board then you might enjoy taking a peak behind the scenes – the room where it happens. During a trip to the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, I pulled the trigger to take a behind the scenes visit to learn how some of my favorite Italian foods are mad. I had insider access to visit a prosciutto factory, Parmigiano-Reggiano factory, and a balsamic vinegar farm.
The experience is incredible. In additional to the food galore, you learn all the steps on how these products are genuinely made. Plus, you understand all about the highly-coveted Italian DOCG approval. Learn what to expect when you visit a Parmigiano-Reggiano and prosciutto tour in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
If you are staying in Bologna, there are many tours that will pick you up in the city center. I booked my tour through Airbnb Experience.
Once picked up by our van, the group made our way to Parma, Italy for the first phase of our Parma food tour.
Parmigiano-Reggiano Factory Tour in Parma
First up is the cheese factory! Once outside you’ll put on your stylish Parmigiano-Reggiano factory ensemble. For hygienic purposes your clothing and hair must be covered as much as possible. Check out that sexy lady in blue (me) below.
Step by step, our guide carefully explained the process of creating and producing the famous Italian cheese.
Fun fact: Did you know Parmigiano is one of the most faked foods in the world? Plenty of vendors slap a label on it with claims, but only true and verified Parmigiano can come out of this region!
In the first room the milk is transferred into enormous copper bowls. Then, the workers add Whey and rennet while heating up the mixture. Eventually the milk begins to curdle. The curds are cut up, the mixture heats up further, and they sink to the bottom, forming into a solid mass.
The cheesemakers come back and separate the mass in half, hanging each of them on a cloth while they await the next step.
Continuing on, you observe the step where the cheese is then put into the mold (we all know the famous Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese wheel!) and left to soak in salt water. They stay here up to 25 days!
Eventually, we made our way into the final room: storage. For cheese-lovers (aka me: I grew up in Wisconsin), this room truly feels like heaven. There are aisles and aisles of cheese wheels stacked for as far as you can see.
The cheese ages here for a minimum of one year. However, they usually age them for 24 or 36 months to help continue developing the flavor.
In this final room, you learn the exact technique that professionals use to give the final stamp of approval to the cheese. The official inspector, the Consorzio, uses a mallet (shown in the guide’s hand in the image above) to tap against the cheese as well as visually inspect cheese. Only the top quality cheeses can receive the official Parmigiano-Regiano mark.
Imagine taking so much time to craft the perfect cheese, only to miss an approval at the last step! Oh well. It just goes to show how seriously the DOC label is taken in Italy. It is not only about the processes, but also the quality of the final result.
If you still want to learn more about official Parmigiano-Regiano, they have an incredible website dedicated to sharing the process, booking tour, and posting various recipes.
Next, you’ll hop back in the van to head towards the next town, Modena, to continue on this Emilia-Romagna food tour.
Balsamic Vinegar Tasting in Modena
Modena is THE name in Italy if you are seeking top-quality balsamic vinegar. And wait…if you think you don’t like balsamic vinegar please at least wait to make a final decision until you try the genuine Italian version. I, myself, an a convert.
When we arrived the table was already prepped for our group. Pastries, cold cuts, cheeses, and a hefty pour of a deep, red “breakfast wine.” I mean, it was 10:45am. When in Italy! Andiamo!
The owner walked us through the process on how they create the balsamic vinegar. They are a small volume farm – most of the barrels we saw aging are for members of their family! Then, it was time to try.
Here’s the deal. I never believed I could actually enjoy balsamic vinegar. I avoided it like the plague in the US. But, as I sat in the tiny farmhouse in Modena, sampling tiny bits of balsamic vinegar by the spoonful, it dawned on me I had simply been missing quality. That, and I also just have an impeccable pallet for top quality. 😉
I don’t know what happened but near the end of the tour I was basically guzzling balsamic. They also served a tasting drizzled on a little cup of warm ricotta. The mix sounded odd to me, but tasted delicious! They explained you can put balsamic on so many things! Not just salads, but also steak, cheese, and ice cream!
Don’t forget to complete a mini photoshoot in front of the vineyards before you take off! In tribute to Autumn, can you tell I was FALL-ing in love with this spot. Ok, we’ve already had enough cheesiness in this post with the Parmigiano…moving along!
I think the group was slightly tipsy after our light snack of wine, meats, cheeses, and all of the balsamic. Keep in mind: this was our SNACK. Lunch still comes later.
Prosciutto Factory Tour in Parma
After another short drive, we arrived at the Prosciutto factory for the third portion of our Parma food tour. Yet again, we put on our stylish blue accessories. This time with some shoe slips to match!
This was an interesting experience. There was prosciutto EVERYWHERE. Hanging from the walls, sitting on shelves, stacked and piled every which way. I have a strong hunch vegans don’t go out of their way to make pit stops here.
Yet again, we learned the entire process of how to preserve the meat, how to cut it in a particular way, etc. If one of these steps is missed, it is NOT official. You know the drill by now. Italy doesn’t mess around with its food certifications.
For instance, one type of prosciutto, di San Daniele, can use that title. And how can you confirm? Due to its distinct look of keeping the hoof attached.
This may or may not come as a shock to you, but the final portion of the day involved more food. In fact, we ate so much I barely managed to get photos (no, the copious amounts of wine had nothing to do with it). In total, we tried 4 cuts of prosciutto, various cheeses, 4 types of pasta, and 2 desserts. Did I mentioned there was wine?
We wrapped up and made it back to Bologna with a couple hours to spare before dinner (except I’m not sure who could be hungry after everything we ate).
Overall, this was a fantastic day and an incredible Prosciutto and Parmigiano tour with a pitstop in Modena. I highly recommend you to sign up to visit during your Italy trip!
You may want to read some of my other Northern Italian content. Check out these posts below: