The extraordinary parmesan of Santa Rita Bio

For 40 years, she has been turning Santa Rita’s milk into parmesan

Because last year, our team had the opportunity to visit the cooperative cheese dairy for the first time. We were left in awe. Long before sunrise, the team is already at work, moving with calm, focus and serenity. Every step of the process is so perfectly coordinated that words are hardly needed anymore.

In short, this is how it works: the raw milk from the previous evening is blended with the fresh milk from the morning and heated in copper vats. Rennet and whey are then added to form curd — the coagulated mass of milk proteins and fat that will eventually become cheese. The curd is heated, gathered using cloths, pressed into moulds, immersed in brine, and finally aged for anywhere between 12 and 180 months.

At Santa Rita, 20 wheels of Parmesan are “born” every day. Each wheel requires 550 litres of milk, and after one year of ageing, a wheel still weighs around 40 kilograms.

During our visit, none other than Graziano himself guided us through the entire operation: the cows, the farms, the cheese dairy, and even the secured ageing rooms (yes, there have actually been robberies involving Kalashnikovs).

Graziano was just 12 years old when his father helped found Santa Rita as one of its 37 milk producers. And he is still there today. Many of you have already met him during one of his visits to Belgium.

Graziano during our farmer’s market in 2021 in Leuven

Santa Rita places great importance on animal welfare across its farms. The cows live in a calm and stress-free environment: they are free to move around the barns and can graze outdoors whenever the weather allows.

When we visited the stables, soothing music was playing softly in the background, and whenever an animal falls ill, homeopathic treatments are always considered first.

A Bianca Modenese cow

View from one of the farms of Santa Rita

It is a real privilege to work with such a remarkable cooperative. We hope this gives you even more reason to enjoy their exceptional product!