For Kelticheart...

[Rami]

Stefano,

I saw this going grocery shopping last night and immediately thought of you. I got kind of excited and talked to my daughter about how small that is versus how big it is when the process starts, had her pick up a small piece, and tipped that half-wheel on its side to show her the stamps on the "rind" of the cheese that marks it as being authentic. When I was explaining this to her, ten people stopped to listen, which I didn't realize.

My daughter, now fully embarrassed her dad is such a geek, quickly said "my dad's a teacher," and then looked at me and said "can we continue shopping now?"

[kelticheart]

Wonderful, Rami!

You still remember the tour we took at the Parmigiano cheese, family-run small dairy plant, do you?

I only hope what you show in the picture is the real thing, because we keep hearing on the news here about all the forgery that is going on around the world, at the expense of famous Italian foods and wines.

If you think that Italian government officials discovered, not a long time ago, a town in China was founded and named "Parma", in order to allow claiming the hard cheese produced there is genuine Parmesan cheese, I rest me case.

Two weeks ago we heard on the news that a special Italian State Police corp, responsible for investigating food frauds here, confiscated a few hundred metric tons of chinese-made wine, sold here as genuine "Moscato" wine. A special sweet wine, great with desserts, produced from a native South Piedmont grapevine and very well known here and abroad.

Chinese-made.....the dark side of globalization which I am starting to like less and less.....

KH

[Typhoon Willy]

Got hold of some Moscato a while ago at a wedding. I was considering changing my name from Typhoon Willy to Willy the Wine-o! Good stuff, man, good stuff!

[Rami]

Wonderful, Rami!

You still remember the tour we took at the Parmigiano cheese, family-run small dairy plant, do you?

I only hope what you show in the picture is the real thing, because we keep hearing on the news here about all the forgery that is going on around the world, at the expense of famous Italian foods and wines.

If you think that Italian government officials discovered, not a long time ago, a town in China was founded and named "Parma", in order to allow claiming the hard cheese produced there is genuine Parmesan cheese, I rest me case.

Two weeks ago we heard on the news that a special Italian State Police corp, responsible for investigating food frauds here, confiscated a few hundred metric tons of chinese-made wine, sold here as genuine "Moscato" wine. A special sweet wine, great with desserts, produced from a native South Piedmont grapevine and very well known here and abroad.

Chinese-made.....the dark side of globalization which I am starting to like less and less.....

KH

Stef,

I remember that vividly, as well as some of the cuisine in that part of Italy. I agree with you on globalization, but I can assure you that to me, it looks, felt, and smelled like the real thing.

Chinese-made parmigiano cheese and moscato wine, eh?