Woolworths_Taste_July_2017

TRAVEL
110
Above, clockwise from left: These newly formed cheeses will still have to pass the hammer test; Igino Morini's most
memorable Parmesan was a wheel from this cellar; Simone (left) and Igino (right) taste different ages of Parmesan.
selective ferment from multinationals. So
the microelements have been living for
hundreds of years. If we stopped for three
days we would lose this important heritage.
EVERY CHEESE IS CHECKED.
Since we do not use any additives, after
one year our expert from the Consortium
checks every cheese with a hammer. We
make three million cheeses every year and
each of those is checked. If it does not
What’s in a name?
Within the European Union the
word “Parmesan” only refers
to real Parmigiano Reggiano
(it is classified as a Protected
Designation of Origin, or PDO,
product) but the same does not
necessarily apply outside EU
borders, where Parmesan can
be used to label various similar
cheeses. Authentic Parmigiano
Reggiano is available at selected
Woolworths stores.
meet the standards, it will be discarded.
On average we discard something like
eight percent of production. Those
that don’t pass the test will be sold to
companies making sliced cheese, mixed
and grated cheese. And if the cheese is
good enough to be considered Parmigiano
Reggiano but not perfect enough to face
long ageing, we call it mezzano because
it must be cut and eaten very young.
IT TAKES TIME AND PATIENCE.
At a glance our cheese looks the same
as most industrialised products. So people
say it’s expensive. If you want to annoy
a producer, tell him that it’s expensive!
You cannot compare an industrial
product, which is ready in five minutes,
with an artisanal product that takes two
years. When we talk about industrialised
products we can talk about costs. When we
talk about the artisanal product we have to
talk about value. If you think about it, to
carry out this kind of production you need
to have maybe 900 cows, from 1 ton of
milk you get two cheeses and you have to
wait two years to get your money back! W
RAMEN IN
BRISBANE
“I make pretty damn
sure I have a bowl
of ramen at Hakataya
Ramen every time I’m in
Brisbane, which is at least once
a year when I visit my sister.
The dish has an emotional
connection for me because we
always eat it together; it’s a ritual
for us. It goes something like this:
‘So we have to fit in the ramen
sometime, when should we do
it?’ An exchange about timing
breakfast and lunch usually
follows, we plan our days around
what and when we’re going to
eat, as one should on holiday.
We always have the charsiumen
– Japanese pork noodle
soup with extra pork (that’s
important). We join the queue,
take a number and wait. If we get
a seat at the small bar, we watch
as the chef assembles our bowls:
a ladleful of a secret ingredient
goes in first, then the noodles
with a deft flick of the wrist, then
it’s topped up with the tonkotsu,
the pork bone broth that’s been
cooking all night, the sliced pork
and spring onions. It’s served
with spicy pickled seaweed on
the side. Slurping and silence
ensues. And sisterly bonding,
the most important part.”
– Lynda Ingham-Brown, TASTE senior
copy editor; hakatayaramen.com
“WE ALWAYS
HAVE THE
CHARSIU-MEN –
JAPANESE PORK
NOODLE SOUP
WITH EXTRA
PORK (THAT’S
IMPORTANT)”