Time is one of the most precious ingredients we have.
Time adds substance, depth, awareness, and wisdom.
It takes Time to know ourselves, and the world around us.

Time is also what makes a recipe Timeless.
Searching for the ultimate expression of an ingredient
requires patience, dedication and obsession. 
This quest is the story behind one of the oldest
and the most contemporary recipes
served at Osteria Francescana.

How old are you?
Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano in Different Temperatures and Textures.

In 1993, before leaving the Emilian countryside for Monte Carlo to apprentice with the acclaimed French chef Alain Ducasse at Hôtel de Paris, I created a recipe with one of the most iconic ingredients in the Emilian pantry: Parmigiano Reggiano.

Parmigiano Reggiano is a living and breathing portrait of Emilia. Created by Benedictine monks in the twelfth century, the characteristics of each wheel vary according to the location, the breed of cows and their diet, and also the season in which the wheel is made. This means no two wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano are ever the same.

When I returned from Monte Carlo to Modena to open Osteria Francescana in 1995, I had a renewed appreciation for Emilian ingredients. A gentleman farmer named Umberto Panini visited the restaurant to taste the signature dish then called: Three Textures and Temperatures of Parmigiano Reggiano. At the end of the meal, Umberto took me aside: “Have you ever considered how time changes Parmigiano? Time may be the key to the evolution of your recipe.”

The kitchen began experimenting with the subtle changes between a 24 and 40-month cheese and we discovered that Umberto was right—the different ages of the cheese changed the recipe’s texture, flavour and consistency, and the recipe took on another kind of vibrancy. 
The recipe was no longer about one ingredient: Parmigiano Reggiano. 
Three Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano in Different Temperatures and Textures also became a reflection on Time.
A 24-month cheese became the demi-soufflé.
A 30-month cheese became the warm, enveloping sauce.
A 40-month cheese became the intensely flavoured paper-thin wafer. 


During the summer of 2000 while cooking with the Spanish chef Ferran Adrià, I got the inspiration for the fourth element of the recipe, a chilled foam mounted in a siphon made from a 36-month aged cheese. Six year later, Four Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano became Five when I was invited to the Louvre for a cheese demonstration. I decided to prepare one of my grandmother’s recipes: a broth using 50-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano crusts and freshly grated 50-month cheese. With a simple hand-held blender, the intense Parmigiano water lifted like a cloud—an ethereal, almost invisible air of cheese floated on top of the dish.


A recipe made with two ingredients—Parmigiano Reggiano and Time—took more than a decade to complete and became the most timeless expression of Osteria Francescana’s kitchen.

What does time mean to you?
NEVER STOP QUESTIONING

credit Pål Hansen – @pal_hansen