The Ultimate Italian Kids' Energy Snack Not On Your Radar

A superfood and fuel for Olympians with a 1,000 year old recipe

Italian Olympic gymnast, Giorgia Villa, opens a foil-wrapped bocconcino of parmigiano reggiano

While ‘merendine’ or little, sweet pre-packaged snacks have tragically become more and more popular as kids’ snacks in recent years, parmigiano reggiano, the iconic aged Italian cheese remains king in Italy.

If you’re only familiar with parmigiano reggiano, or its less flavorful cousin, parmesan being grated on top of pasta, perhaps you’re wondering how children can eat it as a snack. Do they scoop handfuls of grated cheese out of a bowl with a spoon? Or do their parents grate the cheese directly into their open mouths like baby birds? *wink wink*

No and no. In Italy, parmigiano reggiano (or parmigiano for short) is often eaten in chunks, as you see Italian Olympic gymnast, Giorgia Villa, unwrapping a tiny bar of parmigiano in the photo above. Giorgia has every Italian’s dream job of being an ambassador of parmigiano reggiano. Every Italian supermarket sells the familiar large triangular slabs of parmigiano as well as packages of mini-parmigiano bricks of about 20g each - or the size of a very big thumb. These bocconcini, or ‘little mouthfuls’, may be individually foil-wrapped for easy transport or not. If you don’t live in Italy, you can cut up your own parmigiano bocconcini at home and wrap them in foil yourself! I even do this hack here in Como, as its more economical!

me at home, prepping a cheese tax for the chef!

Viola Buitoni, Italian chef, instructor and food writer, explains Italian children’s relationship with parmigiano so beautifully in her book ‘Italy by Ingredient’:

‘No Italian has conscious memories of their life before parmigiano reggiano. That’s because we Italians have such faith in the miraculous properties of this cheese that we include it among babies’ first foods… As children grow, parmigiano remains their superfood, packed in lunch boxes and handed out by Italian soccer moms all over the world. It can even be found in bar-sized packets at vending machines in Italian railway stations.’ - VB

What’s the big secret about parmigiano?

Few foods that are so intensely delicious can also claim to be so wildly nutritious, but parmigiano can. It’s the ‘unicorn of cheeses’. In classic Italian style, parmigiano is made of just a few ingredients that result in something fantasticially flavorful and unique. It’s brilliant for pre and post sport because it’s energy that’s are easily digestible that also happens to be full of muscle-building protein and bone-strengthing calcium. Let’s get into its merits:

• contains only 3 natural ingredients - milk, salt, and rennet

• naturally lactose free (talk to your doctor, but often people allergic to milk can eat it too)

• easily digestible

• 6.4 g protein per 20 g parmigiano reggiano

• source of calcium, phosphorous and vitamin D

• NO additives, preservatives, artificial coloring, or flavoring

• No OGM/GMO (genetically modified organisms) allowed

• beneficial prebiotic and probiotic effects

• 80 calories / 20g parmigiano - none of which are sugars

• 0.32g salt / 20g parmigiano

Additionally, it’s very portable and can stay out of the refrigerator for 4 hours (or even days). Perfect for popping into a school backpack to be eaten later or for taking on a hike, which we do all the time.

left to right: foil-wrapped bocconcino of parmigiano reggiano and a Parmareggio snack box, chunks of parmigiano at home

According to a published study in the National Institute of Health catalog:

For its high nutrient content and high digestibility Parmigiano Reggiano is a cheese recommended in all feeding age groups. Moreover Parmigiano Reggiano is a very important food for skeleton health: it is an optimal source of many essential nutrients for the acquisition and maintenance of bone health such as proteins, minerals and vitamins.

Regimented Snacking in Italy

Unlike the United States where snacks for kids are often available at any time of day, snack-time in Italy is not an all-day thing. ‘Merenda’ is the scheduled daily snack time for kids, occuring between 4:00-5:00 pm. Merenda may consist of some parmigiano, a panino (sandwich), yogurt, a gelato, or bread with Nutella. The fact that snack time is scheduled would not be surprising to anyone who’s ever visited or lived in Italy. All meals revolve around eating at regular hours with no snacking in between.

School children also have a mid-morning snack, called ‘intervallo’, which occurs between 10:30-11:30 am and is typically fruit.

Note: My son has a larger mid-morning snack, a panino, as he’s in public Italian middle school and doesn’t eat lunch until 2pm during school days. This topic will be another post altogether!

Do kids like parmigiano?

Maybe a better question would be, is it possible for kids NOT to like parmigiano? Parmigiano is one of those rare and special foods that can claim to be ‘umami’, that ‘fifth taste’ beyond sweet, sour, salty, and bitter that brings a pure and pleasant savoriness. The word umami is Japanese and the closest translation into English is something like ‘deliciousness’ or ‘savoriness’ according to the legendary Samin Nosrat in her book Salt Fat Acid Heat. Incredibly, it seems to be a flavor we seek out because of our first food, according to The Spruce Eats:

‘Breast milk is high in the amino acids that deliver the taste of umami, which may prime a person to seek out this flavor profile throughout life.’

2024 Summer Olympics and Parmigiano

Did parmigiano reggiano fuel the the Italian woman’s gymnastic team to a silver medal victory in the 2024 Paris summer Olympics? Giorgia Villa, talented Italian gymnast on the winning team, is also an ambassador for parmigiano reggiano and regularly poses with the giant wheels of the beloved Italian food product. Giorgia favors ‘the ‘bocconcini’ (bites) the Italians unwrap as snacks.’ Other top Italian athletes, who are also sponsored by parmigiano reggiano include tennis player Jannik Sinner, volleyball player Caterina Bozzetti, fencer Matteo Neri and the paralympic swimmer, Giulia Ghiretti .

Photos courtesy of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium. Giorgia Villa, ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano

best parmigiano photo OF ALL TIME! Brava, Giorgia!

Heaven in Italy: a Parmigiano tasting

I recently took my 13 year old son, Matteo, and his friend, Samuele, to tour the making a Parmigiano Reggiano caseificio or dairy in the heart of Emilia Romagna, Italy. We had the best guide, Lorenzo, who explained all the steps in the most basic and enthusiastic way. Of course, there was a tasting afterwards. The boys’ favorite was the Parmigiano aged 24 months - flavorful but not too complex - and mine was the 36-months. I took some notes to share with you!

First you taste it with your teeth, creamy and firm at the same time, occasionally biting into crispy crystalized granules that explode with flavor and crunch. It’s salty and sweet and savory all at the same time. Then, the savory richness melts and settles all around on your tongue and mouth, setting up residency like a decadently languid couch surfer. It’s trascendant; wherever you are in the world, this is a food that can transport you to Italy.

Top left: Parmigiano wheel being formed, Aged parmigiano wheel in the cantina, Me in the cantina/nursery for aging the parmigiano for a minimum of 15 months, our tasting platter with 3 aged parmigianos and a parmigiano spread

Ciao for now!

x Lolly

IG: Weeknight Pasta from Italy