Which cheese do you think of when you read the words “Award Winning”? For us, it’s undoubtedly Ambrosi’s La Traversetolese White Gold Parmigiano Reggiano – 24 Months. The name is a mouthful, so let’s break it down:
Ambrosi: the owner of the small dairy production site that crafts this beautiful cheese.
La Traversetolese: the name of the dairy production site itself, derived from the name of the village in which they are based, Traversetolo.
White Gold: Our American nickname for the cheese – we’ll tell you more about that in a few paragraphs!
Parmigiano Reggiano: the King of Cheese. Enough said!
24 Months: the number of months the cheese is aged, at minimum.
What sets White Gold apart?
The milk: While the production process is similar to most Parmigiano caseifici, the magic lies in the milk: the cows (from 9 neighboring farms) are fed with flax seeds on top of their usual diet. This yields a much richer milk which allows the cheese to stay exceptionally creamy even when aged 24 months.
The “look”: And if flavor wasn’t enough, there is the visual feast of the motif stamped into each wheel. Story goes, the village of Travesetolo was one of the few in the area that escaped bombings during the second world war. The villagers claim a winged goddess was protecting them … the same angel that you can now see on White Gold Parmigiano Reggiano wheels.
The flavor: like most good Parmigiano Reggianos, White Gold is nutty with a slight fruitiness. It stands apart thanks to its low salinity, which is due to a unique feature in its production process. Typically, Parmigiano wheels are submerged in salty brine for 20 to 25 days. White Gold wheels only spend 19 days in brine, which makes the cheese noticeably less salty on the tongue. The expertise of the cheese producers and limited batch production also means each cheese is cared for with the utmost attention, from its “curd” stage to its slow ripening. Simply put, more care leads to more flavor, and an unbelievable long-lingering aroma.
The merchandising support: we all know that even the most remarkable cheese can linger on shelves if it is not properly spotlighted. That’s why we came up with our “Barrel Program”. If you take on White Gold, and keep it in your store, we will send you a real retired wine (or Bourbon!) barrel on wheels, complete with educational signage. We will even stencil it with your store logo for that extra magic touch. All you need to do is keep it stocked with White Gold (of course, bring the cheese in the fridge at night for it to remain fresh). Demos are also available. Reach out to your sales rep if you are interested!
A step by step of the cheese production
La Traversetolese sources their milk from nine local dairy farms – these farms put a true emphasis on the well being of their herds, which, we believe, participates in the creation of excellent milk.
Parmigiano Reggiano is a tale of two milks: the milk from the evening “milking” of the cows, and that of the following morning. They are both poured into large conical copper vats. It takes about 550 liters of milk to produce each wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano!
After the addition of rennet, the milk splits into two components: whey, and curd. The thick mass of curd is broken up by master cheese makers into very small pieces. Tiny pieces of curd are necessary to create hard cheeses, since cutting the curd expels more and more whey. The curd will be used for the making of cheese – the nutritious whey is sent out to pig farms where it feeds herds destined to become Prosciutto! The copper vats are heated to 131 degrees Fahrenheit, which forces the curd to sink to the bottom of the vat.
After about an hour, the cheese-makers coax the curd mass into a cloth, and cut that form into two. Those two masses will become two wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano!
The cheese is placed into large molds, along with special 3D stencils which imprint the cheese with the hallmark rind patterns of Reggiano, the serial number of the cheese making facility, date, and more. At La Traversetolese, the cheese is also stamped with a winged angel. The first day, the cheese remains in plastic forms. The second day, they are transferred to perforated metallic corsets which give the forms their iconic shape.
Once the wheels are firm enough, they are submerged in a salty brine for roughly 19 days. This seasons the cheese, and allows the rind to firm up.
After this brine, the aging begins. White Gold Wheels are aged a minimum of 24 months before we receive them. They remain in the dairy’s aging rooms for the first 12 months, before being transferred to a larger facility in Brescia to finish their curing.
White Gold Parmigiano Reggiano is available in whole wheels, eighths, pre-cuts and shaved & grated tubs. See our full selection here!
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