8 ms·

>Few of these fans would recognise much of what’s sold today. The white flakes many of us grew up shaking from a green can aren’t parmesan, not even close. With

>Few of these fans would recognise much of what’s sold today. The white flakes many of us grew up shaking from a green can aren’t parmesan, not even close. Within the EU, both Parmigiano-Reggiano and its anglicised version, “parmesan”, are legally registered terms protected by the PDO – protected designation of origin – label since 1996. But in the US, the law protects only the name “Parmigiano-Reggiano” (In the EU, those green Kraft canisters are labelled “Parmasello”). This should be everyone's takeaway point from the article. The generic term "parmesan" means nothing. Don't buy it unless it actually says "Parmigiano-Reggiano", as that guarantees at least some minimum level of quality (fraud notwithstanding). I'd also suggest that anyone with a Costco membership should grab a wedge from there. You'll pay $18 or so for a chunk of quality stuff that will last you about six months. It's very, very resilient to mold.

crispyambulance 8y ago
eh... 6 months is really stretching it! Once it has been cut from the wheel, the usable life will be a few weeks maybe a couple months max if properly stored. While it may not mold, it will desiccate and become hard and waxy. You might not be able to tell if you're just grating it finely, but if you're cutting off slivers it will taste different when it's been sitting for too long in the fridge. Local Italian and gourmet groceries sell it for about the same price as Costco. The advantage over Costco is that you get it cut from the wheel in whatever quantity you want, in front of you and you're not buying it as shrink-wrapped wedge.
- gerardnll 8y ago
  '...Once it has been cut from the wheel, the usable life will be a few weeks maybe a couple months max if properly stored. While it may not mold, ... ' Totally true. That's why, when I buy it, I eat a small piece everyday.
  - Angostura 8y ago
    Thats the main problem with having a really good piece of parmesan in the fridge - I eat it.
- LoSboccacc 8y ago
  real parmigiano doesn't have preservatives so it'll mold in a month after opening; grana padano usually does have and will last longer; both will become dry in time after opening. in genera both tastes ok even when they dry out, albeit they gets saltier; if one eats cheese slowly, I'd suggest to get one relatively younger (i.e. 9 months) so as the flavor matures it doesn't get overly strong. they both contain a lot of cholesterol and lot of calories, so I wouldn't call them miracle food, but they do have some nice properties, like they're some of the few cheeses that are suitable for lactose intolerant people (still not for lactose allergic people but ymmv) which makes them a good source of calcium.
  - ceejayoz 8y ago
    > real parmigiano doesn't have preservatives Salt is a preservative.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
- Lucadg 8y ago
  Spot on. Always buy it just cut, when possible. It does make a difference in taste.
basch 8y ago
There are good American variants. "Parmigiano-Reggiano" may be protected, but it doesnt mean that the only good cheese is coming from Italy. https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/American-Grana https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/American-Grana https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/Parmesan https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/Parmesan Check out section H - https://1sskha48hhbhl0oc61bhsagh-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-ACS-Judging-and-Competition-Awards.pdf https://1sskha48hhbhl0oc61bhsagh-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-... https://wccc.myentries.org/contest/results/?event=61&eventClass=818 https://wccc.myentries.org/contest/results/?event=61&eventCl... They won first place in America and the World this year. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th came from Wisconsin at world. 5th and 7th from Italy. And there are 6 different companies from Wisconsin represented on that list. NY, SD, IA, and MD are the only other states represented.
- mikepurvis 8y ago
  Depending where you live, there are a lot of small-time artisan cheese makers who make great product. For example, Gunn's Hill in southwestern Ontario— their stuff is more like a mild swiss than a sharper parmesan, but it's beautifully flexible for sandwiches, sauces, snacking, whatever. And the cheese counters at our local farmers market have a number of options like this. https://www.gunnshillcheese.ca/artisan-cheese/our-artisan-cheese https://www.gunnshillcheese.ca/artisan-cheese/our-artisan-ch...
- luckydata 8y ago
  I'm Italian living in California, I looked far and wide for reasonable alternatives and wished to find good stuff here. You can give yourself all the medals you want but it won't make you the real deal, the stuff you mentioned might be passable grated but it's not even remotely the same when consumed by itself.
  - Kurtz79 8y ago
    Have you tried the actual cheeses he mentions?
    - 8y ago
eyko 8y ago
Not everyone needs Parmagiano-Reggiano. You can buy parmesan to put on your microwaved pasta and it will be Very Good(TM). No need to waste good quality DOP on that. As with all cheeses, "parmesan" labeled cheeses will also vary in quality. Go for what your wallet + taste buds tell you to pick. There really are good quality "parmesan" brands out there. Maybe not the cheapest stuff in your grocery store, but as long as you know what you're getting... I have a philosophy: if it's made from real milk and by craftspeople who respect the product and the customer, then DOP is not necessarily the only marker of quality cheese. edit: Here's an anecdote: A few months ago I travelled to the USA (Detroit) for a friend's wedding. Most of the food after the ceremony was from local producers, either acquaintances or good friends of the couple. My friend (who is also not from the USA) told me to try some of the charcuterie and cheeses on one of the tables and to tell him what I thought (we're both from Spain). The parmesan on that table was just perfect. Obviously not the real deal, but you could see the texture: the crumbly-ness (is that a word?), the little crystals cracking in your mouth, the aroma... I would not have guessed it was local produce. The same goes for the cured meats (some chorizo, and some cured ham, with a profile somewhere in between serrano and prosciutto). Really good stuff, and definitely not DOP.
- saiya-jin 8y ago
  That might be all nice and true, but then why the desperate need from manufacturers to appear as close as original as possible to trick and lure some unknowing shoppers? If you make a copy, and you are proud how good it is, make it clear and add what makes yours so special. The discussion it seems is more about cheaper knock-offs that many people don't distinguish from original because they don't know exact words in names and other signs to look for. These often come with subpar ingredients and additives/conservants as noted in the article - which is something many people are concerned about, even if taste is OK. EU might be a pile of crap in many aspects, but protection of local, traditional products is definitely something I support and it seems to be done well.
  - basch 8y ago
    Parmesan is a generic word in America. It's a word to describe a family of hard cheeses, usually ground by Kraft. Im not sure if every times a brand describes a cheese as Parmesan they are trying to be misleading or trick people into thinking its from Europe, they are just describing it in a way that aligns with Americans expectations.
LandR 8y ago
I buy parmagiano-regianno and find it goes off and starts going moudly at the back (circular bit) after a couple of weeks. Do you keep it in the fridge, wrapped, what? How do you store it so it lasts so long?
- AdmiralAsshat 8y ago
  I have a "Foodsaver" (vacuum sealer) that I use with the block. I'll open the bag, cut off what I think I'll use either immediately or within the next few days, and then vacuum-seal the bag again. Before I had that, I would usually wrap the cheese in a layer of wax paper, followed by a layer of foil, and put that in the freezer, taking it out as I needed it. Hard cheeses in the freezer will turn white and may no longer be useful to eat shards of on their own, but they're still fine for grating and melting.
- crazygringo 8y ago
  Mine stays good for 6+ months in the fridge, I buy a big hunk. Moisture and mold control is essential though. There are five key things to do: - Keep it in a sealed container, otherwise it'll dry out completely in a couple weeks and become inedible - Put a single folded-up paper towel in the sealed container to absorb gradual amounts of moisture that come out. Otherwise condensation will form on the cheese and mold will grow quickly - Replace the paper towel with a new one every 2 weeks (it'll be slightly damp) - Keep the hunk solid (don't pre-cut) and always grate/shave from the "oldest" area. Mold only grows on the surface, so as long as you're using it once every week or two, the surface doesn't exist for too long, so zero mold - Cut off the rind before any of this, since otherwise it would accumulate mold eventually. Save rinds in the freezer until you make minestrone or another appropriate soup, and cook with them -- they'll stay solid but the soup will absorb all the flavor from the rind, and then you fish it back out at the end Maybe it sounds like a lot of work, but a $50 chunk can last half the year if you're using it by yourself every couple days for scrambled eggs, simple pastas, shavings on salads, and so on. It turns out to be a pretty affordable luxury.
- throw7 8y ago
  I wrap my cheese in a lightly damp paper towel of white vinegar. I suppose that is probably sacrilege and passes on some vinegar taste, but I don't notice and it generally keeps the mold away.
m000 8y ago
The PDO may not work as expected in the face of rising popularity of a product. This could be the case for Parmigiano-Reggiano. A recent #notonmypasta campaign [1] outlined abuses on milk-producing cows (e.g. 0 pasture days) in the PDO region. Cheese produced by potentially sickly animals can't ever be considered the pinnacle of quality. The BBC article attributing nearly-magic properties to the cheese just makes things worse. The article almost reads as an advertorial/counter-campaign. I'd personally go for a Parmesan knockoff from a farm certified for animal welfare, rather than the PDO with shadows over the quality of the milk used. [1]: https://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2017/11/the-cruel-truth-behind-parmesan-that-is-hard-to-stomach https://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2017/11/the-cruel-truth-behind-...
droussel 8y ago
We buy those wedges at Costco and they last us about 2 months haha! But we use the stuff everywhere: On pasta, on grilled asparagus, in risotto, etc. Everything's better with good Parmigiano!
reubeniv 8y ago
does the PDO actually guarantee quality? It guarantees it's made in a particular region, and the case for it is that certain ingredients are only available in that region but, for example, I often buy own-brand 'Italian-style hard cheese', which is effectively the same, it's just made outside of Italy so can't share the name. Call me cynical, DPOs seem abused and more about protecting regional industries as apposed to guaranteeing quality for consumers.
- AdmiralAsshat 8y ago
  Well, I suppose nothing can really guarantee quality--the requirements simply make it more difficult to screw up. For instance, pulling from this article[0]: >In the highly sanctioned world of Parmigiano-Reggiano, cows graze in pastures; their diet must consist of at least 75 percent local grass. Here in the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t mandate diet, and cows typically aren’t pastured; manufacturers reported using various feeds, including hay, corn, soybeans, and grains. ... > Another factor: raw versus pasteurized milk. In Italy, Parmigiano-Reggiano is always made from raw milk. In the States, the milk is typically pasteurized first. This step kills off potentially dangerous organisms and yields a more consistent product. The downside? The heating process also kills off flavorful microorganisms. ... >The aging step affects both flavor and texture. Once the wheels come out of the salt bath, they’re set on racks in climate-controlled rooms to age. As the cheese sits, lactic acid forms, and the acid causes proteins in the cheese to squeeze together, which in turn forces out moisture. Parmigiano-Reggianos are required to age for at least 12 months, though most are left for 24. Meanwhile, the FDA mandates a minimum of just 10 months for Parmesan. Thus, the domestic cheeses tended to be rubbery, while the imports were dry and crumbly. --- So again, you could make a hard cheese that follows none of the requirements but still tastes pretty good. You could also make a Parmigiano-Reggiano that tastes like crap. But if you follow all of the standards, you will more likely come alot closer to replicating the taste of what we associate with Parmigiano-Reggiano than a vat of hard cheese that some guy cooked up in his basement. The standards are specifically there to curtail the shortcuts (less aging, lower-quality ingredients) that unscrupulous companies try to sneak into their cheeses and market as premium, "aged" Parmesan. [0]https://www.americastestkitchen.com/taste_tests/1695-supermarket-parmesan?incode=MASAD00L0&ref=new_search_experience_13 https://www.americastestkitchen.com/taste_tests/1695-superma...
jeffwass 8y ago
Question for the HC crowd : Eat the rind or not? I do, only after the rest is gone.
- scotu 8y ago
  Save it. When you have enough for everybody at the table: GRILL IT, until the rind side gets charred and gets a crunchy thin layer and the cheese side gets kinda soft. Fork and knife, eat it until it's hot (don't burn yourself :D) This is how my family does it :)
- AdmiralAsshat 8y ago
  I don't eat it by itself. I put it in a ziplock bag and stash it in the freezer. Then I pull it out whenever I'm making a savory soup or stew and drop the rind in, usually to be fished out before serving (like a bay leaf). It adds great umami flavor to the dish.
- kbouck 8y ago
  You can add the rind to minestrone.
michrassena 8y ago
As someone who buys and enjoys the Costco Parmiagiano-Reggiano (PR) and who has eaten both it and the green can version in the last couple of weeks, I think it's a shame that people would be misled into thinking the green can version is anything like Parmesan cheese. PR has rich umami flavor that as someone who grew up on the green can kind, I can only feel a bit ripped off by what I was missing all those years. PDO can be problematic, especially when there is terroir which can only be used by a limited number of companies who are granted the mark. It's still a mark I look for, now that I know better. In many ways it acts the same as trademark, ensuring that the purchaser gets the real article. There's no reason to believe that the best example of a product comes with a PDO, but it is at least a very high minimum standard.

crispyambulance 8y ago

eh... 6 months is really stretching it! Once it has been cut from the wheel, the usable life will be a few weeks maybe a couple months max if properly stored. While it may not mold, it will desiccate and become hard and waxy. You might not be able to tell if you're just grating it finely, but if you're cutting off slivers it will taste different when it's been sitting for too long in the fridge. Local Italian and gourmet groceries sell it for about the same price as Costco. The advantage over Costco is that you get it cut from the wheel in whatever quantity you want, in front of you and you're not buying it as shrink-wrapped wedge.

gerardnll 8y ago
'...Once it has been cut from the wheel, the usable life will be a few weeks maybe a couple months max if properly stored. While it may not mold, ... ' Totally true. That's why, when I buy it, I eat a small piece everyday.
- Angostura 8y ago
  Thats the main problem with having a really good piece of parmesan in the fridge - I eat it.
LoSboccacc 8y ago
real parmigiano doesn't have preservatives so it'll mold in a month after opening; grana padano usually does have and will last longer; both will become dry in time after opening. in genera both tastes ok even when they dry out, albeit they gets saltier; if one eats cheese slowly, I'd suggest to get one relatively younger (i.e. 9 months) so as the flavor matures it doesn't get overly strong. they both contain a lot of cholesterol and lot of calories, so I wouldn't call them miracle food, but they do have some nice properties, like they're some of the few cheeses that are suitable for lactose intolerant people (still not for lactose allergic people but ymmv) which makes them a good source of calcium.
- ceejayoz 8y ago
  > real parmigiano doesn't have preservatives Salt is a preservative.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
Lucadg 8y ago
Spot on. Always buy it just cut, when possible. It does make a difference in taste.

basch 8y ago

There are good American variants. "Parmigiano-Reggiano" may be protected, but it doesnt mean that the only good cheese is coming from Italy. https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/American-Grana https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/American-Grana https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/Parmesan https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/Parmesan Check out section H - https://1sskha48hhbhl0oc61bhsagh-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-ACS-Judging-and-Competition-Awards.pdf https://1sskha48hhbhl0oc61bhsagh-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-... https://wccc.myentries.org/contest/results/?event=61&eventClass=818 https://wccc.myentries.org/contest/results/?event=61&eventCl... They won first place in America and the World this year. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th came from Wisconsin at world. 5th and 7th from Italy. And there are 6 different companies from Wisconsin represented on that list. NY, SD, IA, and MD are the only other states represented.

mikepurvis 8y ago
Depending where you live, there are a lot of small-time artisan cheese makers who make great product. For example, Gunn's Hill in southwestern Ontario— their stuff is more like a mild swiss than a sharper parmesan, but it's beautifully flexible for sandwiches, sauces, snacking, whatever. And the cheese counters at our local farmers market have a number of options like this. https://www.gunnshillcheese.ca/artisan-cheese/our-artisan-cheese https://www.gunnshillcheese.ca/artisan-cheese/our-artisan-ch...
luckydata 8y ago
I'm Italian living in California, I looked far and wide for reasonable alternatives and wished to find good stuff here. You can give yourself all the medals you want but it won't make you the real deal, the stuff you mentioned might be passable grated but it's not even remotely the same when consumed by itself.
- Kurtz79 8y ago
  Have you tried the actual cheeses he mentions?
  - 8y ago

eyko 8y ago

Not everyone needs Parmagiano-Reggiano. You can buy parmesan to put on your microwaved pasta and it will be Very Good(TM). No need to waste good quality DOP on that. As with all cheeses, "parmesan" labeled cheeses will also vary in quality. Go for what your wallet + taste buds tell you to pick. There really are good quality "parmesan" brands out there. Maybe not the cheapest stuff in your grocery store, but as long as you know what you're getting... I have a philosophy: if it's made from real milk and by craftspeople who respect the product and the customer, then DOP is not necessarily the only marker of quality cheese. edit: Here's an anecdote: A few months ago I travelled to the USA (Detroit) for a friend's wedding. Most of the food after the ceremony was from local producers, either acquaintances or good friends of the couple. My friend (who is also not from the USA) told me to try some of the charcuterie and cheeses on one of the tables and to tell him what I thought (we're both from Spain). The parmesan on that table was just perfect. Obviously not the real deal, but you could see the texture: the crumbly-ness (is that a word?), the little crystals cracking in your mouth, the aroma... I would not have guessed it was local produce. The same goes for the cured meats (some chorizo, and some cured ham, with a profile somewhere in between serrano and prosciutto). Really good stuff, and definitely not DOP.

saiya-jin 8y ago
That might be all nice and true, but then why the desperate need from manufacturers to appear as close as original as possible to trick and lure some unknowing shoppers? If you make a copy, and you are proud how good it is, make it clear and add what makes yours so special. The discussion it seems is more about cheaper knock-offs that many people don't distinguish from original because they don't know exact words in names and other signs to look for. These often come with subpar ingredients and additives/conservants as noted in the article - which is something many people are concerned about, even if taste is OK. EU might be a pile of crap in many aspects, but protection of local, traditional products is definitely something I support and it seems to be done well.
- basch 8y ago
  Parmesan is a generic word in America. It's a word to describe a family of hard cheeses, usually ground by Kraft. Im not sure if every times a brand describes a cheese as Parmesan they are trying to be misleading or trick people into thinking its from Europe, they are just describing it in a way that aligns with Americans expectations.

LandR 8y ago

I buy parmagiano-regianno and find it goes off and starts going moudly at the back (circular bit) after a couple of weeks. Do you keep it in the fridge, wrapped, what? How do you store it so it lasts so long?

AdmiralAsshat 8y ago
I have a "Foodsaver" (vacuum sealer) that I use with the block. I'll open the bag, cut off what I think I'll use either immediately or within the next few days, and then vacuum-seal the bag again. Before I had that, I would usually wrap the cheese in a layer of wax paper, followed by a layer of foil, and put that in the freezer, taking it out as I needed it. Hard cheeses in the freezer will turn white and may no longer be useful to eat shards of on their own, but they're still fine for grating and melting.
crazygringo 8y ago
Mine stays good for 6+ months in the fridge, I buy a big hunk. Moisture and mold control is essential though. There are five key things to do: - Keep it in a sealed container, otherwise it'll dry out completely in a couple weeks and become inedible - Put a single folded-up paper towel in the sealed container to absorb gradual amounts of moisture that come out. Otherwise condensation will form on the cheese and mold will grow quickly - Replace the paper towel with a new one every 2 weeks (it'll be slightly damp) - Keep the hunk solid (don't pre-cut) and always grate/shave from the "oldest" area. Mold only grows on the surface, so as long as you're using it once every week or two, the surface doesn't exist for too long, so zero mold - Cut off the rind before any of this, since otherwise it would accumulate mold eventually. Save rinds in the freezer until you make minestrone or another appropriate soup, and cook with them -- they'll stay solid but the soup will absorb all the flavor from the rind, and then you fish it back out at the end Maybe it sounds like a lot of work, but a $50 chunk can last half the year if you're using it by yourself every couple days for scrambled eggs, simple pastas, shavings on salads, and so on. It turns out to be a pretty affordable luxury.
throw7 8y ago
I wrap my cheese in a lightly damp paper towel of white vinegar. I suppose that is probably sacrilege and passes on some vinegar taste, but I don't notice and it generally keeps the mold away.

m000 8y ago

The PDO may not work as expected in the face of rising popularity of a product. This could be the case for Parmigiano-Reggiano. A recent #notonmypasta campaign [1] outlined abuses on milk-producing cows (e.g. 0 pasture days) in the PDO region. Cheese produced by potentially sickly animals can't ever be considered the pinnacle of quality. The BBC article attributing nearly-magic properties to the cheese just makes things worse. The article almost reads as an advertorial/counter-campaign. I'd personally go for a Parmesan knockoff from a farm certified for animal welfare, rather than the PDO with shadows over the quality of the milk used. [1]: https://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2017/11/the-cruel-truth-behind-parmesan-that-is-hard-to-stomach https://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/2017/11/the-cruel-truth-behind-...

droussel 8y ago

We buy those wedges at Costco and they last us about 2 months haha! But we use the stuff everywhere: On pasta, on grilled asparagus, in risotto, etc. Everything's better with good Parmigiano!

reubeniv 8y ago

does the PDO actually guarantee quality? It guarantees it's made in a particular region, and the case for it is that certain ingredients are only available in that region but, for example, I often buy own-brand 'Italian-style hard cheese', which is effectively the same, it's just made outside of Italy so can't share the name. Call me cynical, DPOs seem abused and more about protecting regional industries as apposed to guaranteeing quality for consumers.

AdmiralAsshat 8y ago
Well, I suppose nothing can really guarantee quality--the requirements simply make it more difficult to screw up. For instance, pulling from this article[0]: >In the highly sanctioned world of Parmigiano-Reggiano, cows graze in pastures; their diet must consist of at least 75 percent local grass. Here in the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t mandate diet, and cows typically aren’t pastured; manufacturers reported using various feeds, including hay, corn, soybeans, and grains. ... > Another factor: raw versus pasteurized milk. In Italy, Parmigiano-Reggiano is always made from raw milk. In the States, the milk is typically pasteurized first. This step kills off potentially dangerous organisms and yields a more consistent product. The downside? The heating process also kills off flavorful microorganisms. ... >The aging step affects both flavor and texture. Once the wheels come out of the salt bath, they’re set on racks in climate-controlled rooms to age. As the cheese sits, lactic acid forms, and the acid causes proteins in the cheese to squeeze together, which in turn forces out moisture. Parmigiano-Reggianos are required to age for at least 12 months, though most are left for 24. Meanwhile, the FDA mandates a minimum of just 10 months for Parmesan. Thus, the domestic cheeses tended to be rubbery, while the imports were dry and crumbly. --- So again, you could make a hard cheese that follows none of the requirements but still tastes pretty good. You could also make a Parmigiano-Reggiano that tastes like crap. But if you follow all of the standards, you will more likely come alot closer to replicating the taste of what we associate with Parmigiano-Reggiano than a vat of hard cheese that some guy cooked up in his basement. The standards are specifically there to curtail the shortcuts (less aging, lower-quality ingredients) that unscrupulous companies try to sneak into their cheeses and market as premium, "aged" Parmesan. [0]https://www.americastestkitchen.com/taste_tests/1695-supermarket-parmesan?incode=MASAD00L0&ref=new_search_experience_13 https://www.americastestkitchen.com/taste_tests/1695-superma...

jeffwass 8y ago

Question for the HC crowd : Eat the rind or not? I do, only after the rest is gone.

scotu 8y ago
Save it. When you have enough for everybody at the table: GRILL IT, until the rind side gets charred and gets a crunchy thin layer and the cheese side gets kinda soft. Fork and knife, eat it until it's hot (don't burn yourself :D) This is how my family does it :)
AdmiralAsshat 8y ago
I don't eat it by itself. I put it in a ziplock bag and stash it in the freezer. Then I pull it out whenever I'm making a savory soup or stew and drop the rind in, usually to be fished out before serving (like a bay leaf). It adds great umami flavor to the dish.
kbouck 8y ago
You can add the rind to minestrone.

michrassena 8y ago

As someone who buys and enjoys the Costco Parmiagiano-Reggiano (PR) and who has eaten both it and the green can version in the last couple of weeks, I think it's a shame that people would be misled into thinking the green can version is anything like Parmesan cheese. PR has rich umami flavor that as someone who grew up on the green can kind, I can only feel a bit ripped off by what I was missing all those years. PDO can be problematic, especially when there is terroir which can only be used by a limited number of companies who are granted the mark. It's still a mark I look for, now that I know better. In many ways it acts the same as trademark, ensuring that the purchaser gets the real article. There's no reason to believe that the best example of a product comes with a PDO, but it is at least a very high minimum standard.