Sigels Addison to crack open giant wheel of 2006 Parmigiano-Reggiano this Saturday

You’re not gonna find this one at Costco: a wedge of aged, super-ripe, vintage Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Each year for the last 11 years Sigel’s cheesemonger, Theresa Magee, cracks open an 85-pound wheel of aged Parm on the Saturday before Easter then puts it on sale. This year, that’s this Saturday,April 7, at 1 pm. at Sigel’s-Addison (15003 Inwood Road).
“Anyone can make a cheese called ‘Parmesan,’ writes Sigel’s Jasper Russo in his email to me, “which is why large-scale food companies can market little green tubes of salted, granulated sawdust under that name. True Parmigiano-Reggiano, however, must be produced in a distinct region of Italy, by a cheesemaker who is a member of the Consorzio Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano, a self-governing body of dairies. The cheese is produced in accordance with strict regulations, and a fine-quality Parmigiano-Reggiano is one of the glories of the cheese world. The cheese is made from unpasteurized cow’s milk-an astonishing 160 gallons for each 85-pound wheel. The authenticity and quality of each wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano can be confirmed by looking at the rind with its pin dot marking showing the words Parmigiano Reggiano and an oval firebrand certification.

Hmm. Now we know.