When I grew up I knew Paramsean cheese as a mysterious powder-like substance that came in a towering cylinder and absorbed the most liquid bits of tomato sauce like that stuff you use at the gas station if you are a little overzealous at the pump. That was Parmasean.
Most of North America has been turned on to Parmigiano-Reggiano in recent years with it`s push on mainstream television. It seems to be a staple that I just can`t live without if I`m going to keep cooking with a crazy smile glued to my face (also a requirement, it would appear, from the same shows 
).
I have used the `real deal`for many years yet known little about it; including how to spell it. Years of looking at the jar of powder (with label) have corrupted my spelling of the real deal (which label is printed on the rind but you don`t see in totality unless you buy the 1-ton wheel of cheese). And the spelling is, indeed, a great giveaway to it`s origin:
Parmigiano-Reggiano is from one of 5 Italian Provinces:
- Parma (yes the same one that produces the ham)
- Reggio Emilia
- Modena
- Bologna
- Mantova
To further confuse things (for us on the outside), Italy groups it`s provinces into 20 regions. The first four provinces on the list above are from the region named Emilia-Romagna and the last is from Mantova. Anything produced outside of these four regions cannot be called by this name so is given other names – including Paramasean and Parmesan.
Parmigiano is a term used to describe Parma while Reggiano describes Reggio Emilia. Some purists (mostly from these two provinces) insist they are the only two products that are the `real deal.`
An a related topic, never throw out your rinds… They make great addition to sauce; but that`s a story for another day…
