Top 8 Parmesan cheeses tested

THE king of Italian cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano is also known as Parmesan, which it was called until 1951 when a small number of artisan producers worked to protect their product.

In 1996 the version of it made in the provinces of Reggio Emilia and Parma, where it originated, and in Modena and Mantua, was granted its DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) under European Union regulations.

The cheese is cut from majestic 30kg wheels which, whole or cut into, are a thing of intoxicating, appetising beauty.