Shadowing Practice: Why Parmesan Cheese Is So Expensive | Regional Eats | Food Insider - Learn English Speaking with Video
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A wheel of Parmesan cheese can cost over a thousand dollars.
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The average wheel weighs 88 pounds, which means it costs over 11 dollars per pound.
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That might not sound like a lot, but it's more than double the price of your average cheddar.
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A wheel of Parmesan cheese takes at least one year to age, 131 gallons of milk to make,
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and it can only be made in a small area in northern Italy.
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Parmesan cheese is a big business for Italy.
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An average of 3 .6 million wheels are produced each year,
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and the industry is worth an eye -popping 2 .2 billion euros, that's about 2 .5 billion US dollars,
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making this cheese one of Italy's biggest exports.
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Every single cheese wheel is made in a restricted area in northern Italy, in the region of Emilia -Romagna.
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It's Italian name, in fact, Parmigiano -Reggiano means from the cities of Parma and Reggio Emilia.
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So how does this turn into this?
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And what makes this so special?
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We went to a dairy in Parma, Italy, to find out.
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The very first producers of Parmesan cheese were monks, over a thousand years ago.
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Then, like now, Parmesan wheels were made with only three ingredients.
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Cow milk sold and rented.
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There are only 329 dairies in the whole world that are certified to produce Parmesan cheese.
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and they're all based in the same area where the monks used to make it.
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In fact, It isn't even possible to make the exact same product outside of the production area.
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And why is that?
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Turns out it's all about treating good bacteria that only grow in this specific territory.
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The whole logic in the production of the Parmigiano Reggiano is
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to transfer these bacteria from the herb to the form of the herb, from the herb to the food,
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from the food, from the food, from the food, through the food techniques of animal food, to the milk, Once they are in the latte, in the casificio, they try to grow their own,
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to allow their presence in the form of the parmesan oregano.
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If they are there, they ferment the components of the latte in the flavors and flavors, like the Parmesan.
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Oh, It takes 131 gallons of milk to make one wheel of Parmesan cheese.
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That's whole -low milk.
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Dairies combine freshly milked whole milk with day -old skim milk to make the cheese.
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The two milks are transferred in this copper vat along with fermented whey, a sort of sourdough, and then rennet,
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an enzyme which gives the milk a yogurt -like texture.
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The cheese master will then split the milk into curds using this tool called "spino".
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The casaro must transform this consistency in a more gommy,
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because we have to remove water since we have to cook a long -staged cheese.
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In the process of cooking 5 minutes We move from 38 degrees Celsius to 55 degrees Celsius.
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together we change in the cheese texture, cooking the milk, does another essential job.
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Do you remember the three good bacteria?
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Well, they're not alone.
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Other bacteria, bad bacteria, might have joined the party.
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Cooking the milk ensures that only the good bacteria can continue the journey, while the others are kicked out.
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The curd travels all the way to the bottom of the vat where it's left to settle.
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Thank you.
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45 minutes later, here it is a compact mass of current weighing 220 pounds Bye.
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This mass is the equivalent of two cheese wheels.
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and is split carefully by workers with linen clothes.
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Each of is then transferred into modes.
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Every two hours this telo is changed.
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The operation is to remove the weight from this mass, change the telo, and turn the shape.
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This every two hours until the evening, at 20 :00.
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At 8pm the cheese is covered with this stencil, which will engrave the logo of Parmigiano -Reggiano.
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These dots are the mark of origin used to tell customers that this is the real thing,
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made in the same restricted area where monks used to live in the Middle Ages.
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Each wheel is also given an ID.
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It's this plaque made from milk protein which contains information about where it was produced and when.
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The stencil is removed four days later and the wheels are prased into brines.
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where they stay completely plunged for about 19 days.
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This process helps to form the cheese rind which acts as a barrier for the Jews.
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And this is when the maturation process begins.
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Wheels remain relatively untouched for one year.
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After that, a master grader will respect them. and Brandon.
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The average maturation is 2 years,
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but some wheels are aged as long as 10 years to achieve a stronger, nuttier taste you you a longer maturation period,
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makes the price go higher.
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That's why a stravecchio, very old parmesan, that has matured for three years, will be sold on the market for an average of 13 euros.
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That's about 15 US dollars per pound.
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This high price means that there is now a black market of counterfeit Parmesan products.
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Italy has been struggling with fake products for years.
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In fact, the problem is so big that the fakes have become an industry of their own.
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that is estimated to be worth 100 billion euros, that's about 113 billion US dollars,
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with Parmigiano -Reggiano, being one of the biggest brands fighting copycats.
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While the cheese is protected in the European Union under the Protected Designation of Origin Scheme,
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it is still struggling to get the recognition it deserves in the rest of the world.
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outside the European Union and outside those countries that do not part of bilateral agreements,
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where it is recognized by the European Union, the problem is really very big, very serious.
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In fact, beyond We can't even protect the term "parmigiano -reggiano" through an operation of the market.
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In many countries, in many countries, the term "parmigiano -reggiano" is a trademark, but it is possible to use In many countries the term is Parmesan,
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so that it makes the final consumer to buy a real parmesan with a parmesan.
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The problem is really big and we are working at a government level.
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So, how do you recognize a real Parmesan cheese?
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Do you remember this dot stencil?
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That's a solid indication that the cheese is legit.
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If that's not visible, the packaging should contain Parmigiano Reggiano's official logo, and the EU's protected designation of origin.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Why Parmesan Cheese Is So Expensive”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: cheese, parmesan, milk, wheel, parmigiano. This video has 84 sentences and 1059 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:46. The speaker talks slowly, about 108 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| parmesan noun | /ˈpɑːmɪˌzæn/ | A hard, full-fat Italian cheese from Parma or its neighboring province Reggio Emilia. |
| bacterium noun | /bækˈtɪəɹ.ɪəm/ | A single-celled organism with cell walls but no nucleus or organelles. |
| pound noun | /ˈpaʊ̯nd/ | A unit of weight in various measurement systems. |
| maturation noun | The process of becoming mature. | |
| stencil noun | /ˈstɛnsəl/ | A thin sheet, either perforated or using some other technique, with which a pattern may be produced upon a surface; a utensil that contains a perforated sheet. |
| herb noun | /hɜːb/ | A plant whose stem is not woody and does not persist beyond each growing season. |
| monk noun | /mʌŋk/ | A male member of a monastic order who has devoted his life for religious service. |
| euro noun | /ˈjʊɹoʊ/ | The currency unit of the European Monetary Union. Symbol: € |
| dairy noun | /ˈdɛə.ɹi/ | (also dairy products or dairy produce) Products produced from milk. |
| curd noun | /kɜː(ɹ)d/ | The part of milk that coagulates when it sours or is treated with enzymes; used to make cottage cheese, dahi, etc. |
| ferment verb | /fɚˈmɛnt/ | To react, using fermentation; especially to produce alcohol by aging or by allowing yeast to act on sugars; to brew. |
| latte noun | /ˈlɑ.teɪ/ | A drink of coffee made from espresso and steamed milk, generally topped with foam. |
| gallon noun | /ˈɡælən/ | A unit of volume, equivalent to eight pints |
| designation noun | /dɛzɪɡˈneɪʃən/ | An act or instance of designating |
| restrict verb | /ɹɪˈstɹɪkt/ | To restrain within boundaries; to limit; to confine |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| kick out verb | To eject, dismiss, expel, or forcefully remove (someone or something). |
| turn out verb | To end up; to result. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to tell · used to live |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be made · are produced · is made |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has matured · have become |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | pounds, which means · stencil, which will |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, can't, isn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: designation /dɛzɪɡˈneɪʃən/, freshly /ˈfɹɛʃli/, indication /ɪndɪˈkeɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: designation /dɛzɪɡˈneɪʃən/, oregano /əˈɹɛɡənoʊ/, bilateral /baɪˈlætəɹəl/, ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/, consistency /kənˈsɪs.tən.si/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like parmesan, bacterium, pound.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.