Thin savoury crackers made with Parmesan and olive oil, from Lady Joseph in Spain.
A point of law that is also a point of flavour. In the European Union, “Parmesan” is not a generic style — it is legally the translation of Parmigiano Reggiano, and a 2008 European Court of Justice ruling confirmed that the name may only be used for cheese meeting that protected designation of origin. So a European product labelled Parmesan is made with the real thing: cow's milk from a defined area of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, aged a minimum of twelve months, made to a specification that has barely changed in eight hundred years. Elsewhere in the world the word means whatever the manufacturer wants, which is why grated “parmesan” abroad can be a different product entirely.
Why Parmigiano works so well in a cracker. Long ageing breaks the cheese's proteins down into free amino acids — above all glutamate, the compound behind umami. Parmigiano Reggiano is one of the most glutamate-rich foods in existence, which is why a small amount transforms a dish. Those white crunchy specks in a well-aged piece are crystals of tyrosine, another amino acid, and they are a mark of proper maturation rather than a fault.
One important note for vegetarians. Parmigiano Reggiano is made with animal rennet, and the PDO specification requires it — there is no vegetarian version of the real cheese. Anyone avoiding animal rennet should read the pack rather than assume.
How to serve them. They are savoury and salty enough to stand alone with a drink, and they are excellent with cured meats, olives, tomatoes, or simply a glass of cold white wine or vermouth. A cheese cracker with a cheese board is redundant — put them out with the drinks instead.
Allergens: milk, and check the pack for the rest. Storage: airtight; they go soft quickly in humid air, and a few minutes in a low oven, cooled on a rack, revives them.
Available at Só Verde, an organic concept store in Foz, Porto.
Lady Joseph
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