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Parmigiano-Reggiano: Italy's 'practically perfect' food

bbc.com

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Re: Parmigiano-Reggiano: Italy's 'practically perfect' food

#31

Post by Brakenshire »

eyko wrote: post #13
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #3

>Few of these fans would recognise much of what’s sold today. The white flakes many of us grew up shaking from a green can aren’t parmesan, not even close. Within the EU, both Parmigiano-Reggiano and its anglicised version, “parmesan”, are legally registered terms protected by the PDO – protected designation of origin – label since 1996. But in the US, the law protects only the name “Parmigiano-Reggiano” (In the EU,…

Not everyone needs Parmagiano-Reggiano. You can buy parmesan to put on your microwaved pasta and it will be Very Good(TM). No need to waste good quality DOP on that. As with all cheeses, "parmesan" labeled cheeses will also vary in quality. Go for what your wallet + taste buds tell you to pick. There really are good quality "parmesan" brands out there. Maybe not the cheapest stuff in your grocery store, but as long a…

> Not everyone needs Parmagiano-Reggiano. You can buy parmesan to put on your microwaved pasta and it will be Very Good(TM).

I was served something marked as 'Gruyere' in the US, and it was a bright white, liquid-paste-like substance which oozed out of a foil triangle, basically a generic processed cheese product unrelated to Gruyere. So if you buy something marked as Parmesan, presumably, it could be almost anything with a dairy base. There must be good products, but the name doesn't seem to be a guarantee of anything.

Re: Parmigiano-Reggiano: Italy's 'practically perfect' food

#33

Post by lawlorino »

goshx wrote: post #9
arthursilva wrote: post #4

It's an absolutely delicious cheese, but why write this nutritional nonsense about "perfect food"?

Click bait.

Very true. I've noticed in the past couple of years that the quantity of these kinds of articles on the BBC seems to be increasing, which is a shame because I've long considered them 'above' this kind of journalism. Just looking at their front page it seems over half of the articles are like this. On the other hand, I can understand why - people click and share these kinds of articles much more frequently, so I imagine it makes their advertisers very happy.

Re: Parmigiano-Reggiano: Italy's 'practically perfect' food

#36

Post by AdmiralAsshat »

LandR wrote: post #29
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #3

>Few of these fans would recognise much of what’s sold today. The white flakes many of us grew up shaking from a green can aren’t parmesan, not even close. Within the EU, both Parmigiano-Reggiano and its anglicised version, “parmesan”, are legally registered terms protected by the PDO – protected designation of origin – label since 1996. But in the US, the law protects only the name “Parmigiano-Reggiano” (In the EU,…

I buy parmagiano-regianno and find it goes off and starts going moudly at the back (circular bit) after a couple of weeks. Do you keep it in the fridge, wrapped, what? How do you store it so it lasts so long?

I have a "Foodsaver" (vacuum sealer) that I use with the block. I'll open the bag, cut off what I think I'll use either immediately or within the next few days, and then vacuum-seal the bag again.

Before I had that, I would usually wrap the cheese in a layer of wax paper, followed by a layer of foil, and put that in the freezer, taking it out as I needed it. Hard cheeses in the freezer will turn white and may no longer be useful to eat shards of on their own, but they're still fine for grating and melting.

Re: Parmigiano-Reggiano: Italy's 'practically perfect' food

#37

Post by crazygringo »

LandR wrote: post #29
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #3

>Few of these fans would recognise much of what’s sold today. The white flakes many of us grew up shaking from a green can aren’t parmesan, not even close. Within the EU, both Parmigiano-Reggiano and its anglicised version, “parmesan”, are legally registered terms protected by the PDO – protected designation of origin – label since 1996. But in the US, the law protects only the name “Parmigiano-Reggiano” (In the EU,…

I buy parmagiano-regianno and find it goes off and starts going moudly at the back (circular bit) after a couple of weeks. Do you keep it in the fridge, wrapped, what? How do you store it so it lasts so long?

Mine stays good for 6+ months in the fridge, I buy a big hunk. Moisture and mold control is essential though. There are five key things to do:

- Keep it in a sealed container, otherwise it'll dry out completely in a couple weeks and become inedible

- Put a single folded-up paper towel in the sealed container to absorb gradual amounts of moisture that come out. Otherwise condensation will form on the cheese and mold will grow quickly

- Replace the paper towel with a new one every 2 weeks (it'll be slightly damp)

- Keep the hunk solid (don't pre-cut) and always grate/shave from the "oldest" area. Mold only grows on the surface, so as long as you're using it once every week or two, the surface doesn't exist for too long, so zero mold

- Cut off the rind before any of this, since otherwise it would accumulate mold eventually. Save rinds in the freezer until you make minestrone or another appropriate soup, and cook with them -- they'll stay solid but the soup will absorb all the flavor from the rind, and then you fish it back out at the end

Maybe it sounds like a lot of work, but a $50 chunk can last half the year if you're using it by yourself every couple days for scrambled eggs, simple pastas, shavings on salads, and so on. It turns out to be a pretty affordable luxury.

Re: Parmigiano-Reggiano: Italy's 'practically perfect' food

#39

Post by walterstucco »

eyko wrote: post #13
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #3

>Few of these fans would recognise much of what’s sold today. The white flakes many of us grew up shaking from a green can aren’t parmesan, not even close. Within the EU, both Parmigiano-Reggiano and its anglicised version, “parmesan”, are legally registered terms protected by the PDO – protected designation of origin – label since 1996. But in the US, the law protects only the name “Parmigiano-Reggiano” (In the EU,…

Not everyone needs Parmagiano-Reggiano. You can buy parmesan to put on your microwaved pasta and it will be Very Good(TM). No need to waste good quality DOP on that. As with all cheeses, "parmesan" labeled cheeses will also vary in quality. Go for what your wallet + taste buds tell you to pick. There really are good quality "parmesan" brands out there. Maybe not the cheapest stuff in your grocery store, but as long a…

De gustibus non est disputandum

But I can't take seriously anything coming from someone who eats 'microwaved pasta'

Re: Parmigiano-Reggiano: Italy's 'practically perfect' food

#40

Post by emptyfile »

twic wrote: post #25

There's a lot of woo in that article. Yes, Parmesan is made to strict rules; no, i probably couldn't tell it from Grana Padano if i was blindfolded. And there's an effort from Wisconsin that is apparently very good: https://www.thekitchn.com/a-morethanworthy-replacement-f-132...

>no, i probably couldn't tell it from Grana Padano if i was blindfolded.

Maybe you lack a sense of smell? Seriously you don't even have to put it in your mouth it already smells quite different...

I buy the cheapest imported stuff here in eastern europe and the difference is...well they're two different types of cheese. They just taste different.

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