Food Icons of Parma: Parmesan Cheese & Prosciutto di Parma

This Experience originates in Bologna, where our Local will meet and accompany you on this great “cheesy” adventure. Parmesan cheese originated about eight centuries ago in the county of Parma in the Italian region of Emilia Romagna. True to tradition, its name, just like as with many foods, came from its place of origin. The monks who lived near the city were the first to start making a distinctive hard cheese during the Middle Ages. By the time of the Renaissance, nobility were producing this fine cheese for their own tables. It was known as caseum paramensis in Latin, and locals shortened this to Parmesàn, in dialect.

This unique gourmet Experience will give you access to the production of the famous Parmesan cheese and Italian prosciutto. It is essential to start this experience early at 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. to catch the cheese makers as they extract the product from the milk vats. You will learn about the process from milk to cheese and taste a variety of cheeses at the end.

Then it’s on to find out more about another fine product of the region — Prosciutto di Parma. For this part of the Experience you will be visiting the cooking and salting rooms, ending up at last in the aging cellar where the sight and the scent will stimulate your taste buds, readying them for a tasting accompanied by local wine. Afterwards, if you are still hungry, our Local can find a trattoria where you can have lunch (price of lunch is not included).