I too have spent my life colloquially referring to everything from the cheese I ate in Parma itself to the Kraft stuff that comes pre-grated in a canister as "Parmesan." It's what American producers BelGioioso and Polly-O call their products, and what any server asks if you'd like sprinkled on your spaghetti and meatballs. But the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium views this as tantamount to deceit, a way to swindle innocent consumers into buying an inferior product. And the group has a plan to stop it.
Giuseppe Alai wanders through the cellar of his dairy in Emilia-Romagna, the air filled with the smell of ageing wheels of parmesan lined up in endless rows. Pointing towards the thick rinds wrapped around them, each bearing the distinct dotted engraving of their Parmigiano Reggiano mark of origin, he recalls an anecdote from his grandfather at the end of the second world war.
