If you know who the Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura is, you might also know that his favorite Parmesan comes from a producer named Rosola. And if their Parmesan can satisfy a three Michelin star chef, it should work for us, right?
Rosola is a very small producer with only 8 employees, and they are considered by many to be one of the world's best cheese producers - not least when it comes to Parmesan.
Rosola makes the best Parmesan according to us, so they deserve a place here among all other nerd info. Here you will learn about what they do, why their cheese is so good, our cheeses from Rosola, and much more.
Rosolas craftsmanship and cows
Rosola is an old cheese producer from Zocca in the Emilia-Romagna region located in northern Italy. They have only 8 employees, which is extremely small. But maybe that's what accounts for the unwavering quality?
In addition to Rosola making cheese according to all rules of the art, the most unique thing about them is that they make extensive use of Bianca Modenese cows. This is an endangered cow breed that used to be a fundamental part of Parmesan production, but today only a few hundred remain.
Bianca Modenese cows only produce about 20 liters of milk per day, so Rosola can only make one wheel of cheese from this milk per day. To put this in perspective, average cows produce about 50-60 liters per day.
Even though other cows are more “productive,” the Bianca Modenese cows produce milk that is very special. It has a ratio between fat and protein that makes it perfect for making cheese, and the large amount of K-casein makes it very easy to process into good cheese. In addition, it is sweeter than regular milk, and it is very high in protein.
This is the reason why Rosola does everything to preserve these cows. Otherwise, Rosola has most of what we look for in a producer, including all possible Italian certificates for a good, traditional production.
Rosola's cheeses
Rosola makes quite a few cheeses. They are most known for their Parmesan, of course, where they have two versions: one made from regular cow's milk and one that is made from Bianca Modenese milk. Both are aged for a long time and are among the tastiest available - if not the absolute tastiest. We sell both Parmesans.
They also make a cheese called “Furmai”, which is known as farmer's cheese. This is a softer cheese with a fresh and delicious flavor. They also produce Maggengo cheese, which is a fairly soft, very flavorful cheese that goes well on a charcuterie board with an intense wine.
In addition to this, Rosola makes an extremely good ricotta which is also very famous. It is also made from Bianca Modenese cows, and you'll probably have to search a long time to find a better one. They also make really good goat cheese and a few other cheeses and dairy products, but it's mainly the Parmesan and ricotta that we are interested in.
Lilla Napoli's cheeses from Rosola
