The “battitore” has the task of identifying, on behalf of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, the presence of any defects in the Parmigiano Reggiano wheels. Each wheel is “beaten” with the appropriate hammer: if it passes the examination, it can be released on the market with its renowned name.
italian pronunciation: /ba.tːi.’to.re/
Renato Giudici, expert beater for the Parmigiano Reggiano consortium, tells us about his work.
All Parmigiano Reggiano wheels undergo scrupulous testing before they can be branded and sold as Parmigiano Reggiano. One of these tests is the beating, done manually wheel by wheel: the outside of the wheel is beaten with a hammer and according to the sounds produced it is determined if the structure of the cheese is intact or has some defects.
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