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We can and we do. It's just that some product names are limited by origin - like a piece of (other) cultural art, food also has a locational history.

But I do agree that maybe average customer don't care about that.

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In the US at least, I am fairly certain that the vast majority of consumers fail to recognize any _categorical_ difference between "parmesan" cheese and "parmigiano-reggiano" cheese (except perhaps the price).

Indeed, even the headline of this article about P-R just calls it "parmesan", which is the same non-DOP term used to refer to similar-style cheese produced in many other places (eg Hungary) and sold in the USA.

My three year old daughter can tell the difference. We keep reggiano on hand and if you give her an inferior Parmesan she will ask for the “good one”. My grocery store buys the wheels from Italy and it’s much better to grate it on demand.

My comment is not to say that people can't distinguish them, but that they are ignorant of the fact that "parmesan" is not DOP and "Parmigiano-Reggiano" is, and that they are not the same category.

I agree that we should make America grate again

My karma is crumbling. My comment just melted into the background. Perhaps it will improve with age.

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