Page 26 - Massimo News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

That's too much. wow, f...! i mean, yes. gino's up at 5am pouring the morning milk into copper vats, massaging the pampered cheeses and running them salt baths that last for 19 days. >> massimo: you have to love the ingredients you have to caress them. hi, dear ingredient. hi, love parmigiano. both gino and massimo see these cheeses not as mere products, but as precious babies. ones happily that you can eat. what am i gonna do with you? you are just born! >> massimo: this is the cheese of this morning. it's called tosone. taste it, it's unbelievable. it's so good.

>> i have some products. ...and his wife, lara gilmore, who runs their incredible restaurant... many ingredients come out of what you have available. >> right. >> ...in your back yard. ...to discover the secrets of why this area is famously known as food valley. the po river is the longest in italy and its fertile flood plain has made this region an agricultural powerhouse. the extraordinary food valley lies between the po river in the north and the apennine mountains to the south. that's modena. it's hazy today. >> oh, that's modena. >> that's modena down in the valley and we have the apennin...

Simplicity is key. local wood is piled high in the hot oven and the ricotta is tucked away, roasting for just a few minutes to crisp up while the flatbreads cook in these traditional circular flints at the oven door. >> massimo: then we're gonna add a little bit of vinegar, some honey that we produce here in maria luigia. >> jessica:...and a little bit of fire and that's it. you trained with massimo. did you speak italian before? >> no, i learned it here. >> wow! >> in the kitchen. >> that's incredibly brave. i was learning from the cooks so i was pretty much saying bad words for the first six...

This is unique. >> massimo: the only parmigiano that can be fire-stamped is from the white cows. >> right. >> this is a very, very small production and extremely high-quality. milk is king in emilia-romagna. the white cows are the bianca modenese breed unique to the valley of the river po that runs through this region. >> massimo: bravo, bravo! emilia-romagna's medieval monks hungry for a long-lasting cheese... it looks like a magic act. ...invented parmigiano. thank god for them. three, two, one, open! oh my god. smell, smell, smell! this smell is unbelievable. >> the smell is unbelievable. >...

[laughs] >> oh fog! >> oh fog! oh fog, thanks to you! the fog and humidity really makes the difference in all this. the humidity that comes from the apennines, that protects from south is cool but not too cool. hot summer, cold winter and creates the perfect microclimate in emilia-romagna. even the region's beloved fresh pasta is explained by this humid climate which means soft wheat can grow here, a very different breed from the heat-loving, dry durum wheat of the south. if you don't believe in god you believe in tortellini in modena, you know? you understand? it's like a religion! and nobody...