Who Makes Costco's Kirkland Signature Aged Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

Costco is a beloved surplus store for a number of reasons. Some customers of the wholesale club enjoy its food court offerings, from the ice cream to its pizza and $1.50 hot dog combo. Other members love its food offerings, such as a $4.99 rotisserie chicken. Still others have an affinity for the wholesale retailer's store brand Kirkland Signature products. The Kirkland Signature line of products is vast and varied, including vodka, bottled water, and even clothing. Many of these goods are made by specific brands for Costco, such as its canned tuna, which is made by Bumblebee brand. Many have worked to suss out the brands behind Kirkland Signature items, with some success.

One such item is Kirkland Signature Aged Parmigiano Reggiano. The cheese is in slices, or in a mammoth 72-pound wheel. But what is the brand behind the cheese? Well, when it comes to this Kirkland Signature item, we'll have to look to Italy. Since the cheese is authentic Parmigiano Reggiano, it must come from Italy, as it is protected by DOP rules. With this, we can then determine the brand behind Kirkland's Parmigiano Reggiano is Formaggi Zanetti. The Italian brand has been operating for over a century and produces, matures, and distributes cheeses from several regions in Italy. Zanetti melds the craft of Italian cheese making with large scale production methods without sacrificing the quality inherent to the governmentally regulated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese name. For this reason, you can rest assured that the wheels and wedges found in Costco, labeled Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano are the real deal.

So, what's the big deal about Kirkland Signature's use of Zanetti Parmigiano Reggiano cheese? For starters not just any old Parmesan can call itself Parmigiano Reggiano. That is reserved only for cheeses sourced from a specific region of Italy. Additionally, these cheeses must be aged for 18 months to 3 years. All of those standards work to produce one extraordinary product. Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard cow's milk cheese. It has a warm, nutty flavor that works well in many recipes, including pasta sauces and soups. The cheese is also emblematic of Italian culture. In fact, the cheese is so iconic to Italy that it officially endorsed one Italian gymnast in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

You can rest assured that Kirkland Signature wedge of cheese is authentic. The brand's aged Parmigiano Reggiano wedges feature both the Kirkland label on the front and a Zanetti label on the back. Now, Zanetti is only known to be the source for Kirkland's wedge and wheel aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Other Kirkland Parmesan products, such as its pre-shredded cheeses, don't carry the Formaggi Zanetti name. If you want the authentic cheese, you'll have to reach for the Kirkland wedge or the mammoth 72-pound wheel of cheese. That massive wheel may be inconvenient for most home cooks, but it definitely holds an almost primordial appeal.