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

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

#81

Post by atombender »

basch wrote: post #8
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,…

There are good American variants. "Parmigiano-Reggiano" may be protected, but it doesnt mean that the only good cheese is coming from Italy. https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/American-Grana https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/Parmesan Check out section H - https://1sskha48hhbhl0oc61bhsagh-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-... https://wccc.myentries.org/contest/results/?event=61&eventCl... They won first place in America a…

I've bought BelGioioso a few times out of necessity (in places with no good supermarkets around that carry real parmesan). It's nothing like parmesan. It's not a bad cheese, just not parmesan. No signs of crystals anywhere, no depth of flavour. Their version of asiago is better, though still not great.

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

#82

Post by basch »

luckydata wrote: post #74
Kurtz79 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried the actual cheeses he mentions?

Yes, but I didn't need to. American producer aren't up to snuff at the moment. Belgioioso is an italian brand BTW, I used to sell it in my family's store back in Italy, we used to own a high end deli and know quite a bit about Italian food and specifically about cheese, at 15 I was the "product manager" for parent's store. Ask me anything :)

How does it being sold in Italy make it an Italian brand? Do they make some of it there? Or is it an unrelated company.

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

#83

Post by kevingrahl »

wenc wrote: post #63
emptyfile wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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.

I don't eat cheese regularly and I can taste the difference between Parmigianno Reggiano and Grana Padano when I eat them as-is (not when shaved in a pasta though -- it's harder when it's in a pasta, which is why GP is often used as a cheaper substitute for PR). Otherwise PR tastes much "nuttier" owing to glumates, which is also one of its standout characteristics. There's another cheese, Pecorino Romano, that's dist…

Pecorino Romano is my favorite cheese! It’s flavor is more subtle than that of Parmaggiano Reggiano and it lacks some of the bitter notes which makes it excellent for Carbonara as you said. But I think it’s perfect for tomato based pasta sauces as well as most tomato’s are quite high in acidity save a few lesser known varieties like San Marzano for example. PR definitely has its place but I tend to only use it for foods that aren’t acidic themself. Broccoli or brussel sprouts and PR are a great combo for instance!

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

#84

Post by luckydata »

basch wrote: post #82
luckydata wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but I didn't need to. American producer aren't up to snuff at the moment. Belgioioso is an italian brand BTW, I used to sell it in my family's store back in Italy, we used to own a high end deli and know quite a bit about Italian food and specifically about cheese, at 15 I was the "product manager" for parent's store. Ask me anything :)

How does it being sold in Italy make it an Italian brand? Do they make some of it there? Or is it an unrelated company.

It was started by a member of the Auricchio family - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auricchio

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

#86

Post by masklinn »

rayiner wrote: post #73
whatshisface wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes I buy the yellow cheese slices at the grocery store without reading what kind they are.

I take coffee from our fancy machine and dump ice cubes in to cool it down.

That's close to the japanese iced coffee method: make the coffee twice as strong as you want it, then pour fresh coffee straight onto equal volume of ice cubes (you can drip pour-overs straight in ice). Super easy and makes for pretty good iced coffee in summer.

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

#87

Post by ddebernardy »

ceejayoz wrote: post #49
jamesgagan wrote: post #41

friendly reminder that if you are concerned about animals or the environment, you should give up dairy products. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding... as well, these animals are apparently not well treated https://action.ciwf.org.uk/page/20874/action/1?locale=en-GB

The charts in The Guardian's article indicate cheese is much more environmentally friendly than beef consumption.

Indeed, but having heard it once, I found it rather mortifying to hear a milk cow mourn its calf for days on end after the latter got taken away from it. This is about animal welfare more than CO2 emissions. Lab-grown meat and related products can't come fast enough.

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

#88

Post by masklinn »

basch wrote: post #8
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,…

There are good American variants. "Parmigiano-Reggiano" may be protected, but it doesnt mean that the only good cheese is coming from Italy. https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/American-Grana https://www.belgioioso.com/Products/Parmesan Check out section H - https://1sskha48hhbhl0oc61bhsagh-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-... https://wccc.myentries.org/contest/results/?event=61&eventCl... They won first place in America a…

> There are good American variants. "Parmigiano-Reggiano" may be protected, but it doesnt mean that the only good cheese is coming from Italy.

Cool. How about they stand on their own feet and you folks stop lying about and mislabeling products?

It's also quite obvious that Italy is not the only place good cheese comes from. The UK and France at the very least are in the running.

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

#89

Post by strainer »

jamesgagan wrote: post #41

friendly reminder that if you are concerned about animals or the environment, you should give up dairy products. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding... as well, these animals are apparently not well treated https://action.ciwf.org.uk/page/20874/action/1?locale=en-GB

Friendly opinion - I think it is wrong to conclude that livestock farming is inherently bad for animals and the environment.

Cow methane as a component of AGW is very over stated. Emissions have been extremely heavily researched by IPCC and ALL of agriculture is rated as contributing to about 15% of global greenhouse gases of human cause[1]. Methane from cows, rice and many other sources is included and weighted in that measurement for its intensity and halflife but is commonly misinterpreted in articles about the subject.

There are serious welfare problems with over-intense and callous livestock farming. But the life of domesticated livestock is not inherently traumatic. Many farmers take pride in the manner they keep their stock which are domesticated to be as content as can be living under humans.

The act of slaughter is morally problematic for sure, but the stress of this one event can be minimised. Livestock can be shielded from awareness and don't consider such things the way humans can. Predation in nature involves running herds of prey to panic and exhaustion, and no less than frenzied violence. Farms animals could well appreciate in ways a less challenging existence.

In order to tackle the huge amount of animal cruelty present in modern farming, I think it is important to respect that many animal farmers are not actually cruel and that livestock farming does not necessarily mistreat animals.

[1] http://www.tsp-data-portal.org/Breakdown-of-GHG-Emissions-by...

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