This is a picture of Parmesan Reggiano cheese. It is an Italian cheese and a staple at our house alongside bread, eggs and milk. We usually grate it using a Zyliss cheese grater to enjoy on pasta and salads. It is nutty and salty. A little goes a long way when it is grated. I prefer grating a small amount of this cheese as an alternative to adding salt to food. It is a hard cheese but it does melt nicely.
Most people are familiar with this Italian cheese but I find many people are confused about Parmesan vs Parmigiano. Follow the preceding link for an explanation.
Wikipedia has a very good information page on Parmesan Reggiano.
I would not consider it a snacking cheese although a small piece of this cheese can be very tasty.
The Canada Cheese Man 
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano is delicious!