With a dusky yellow colour, parmesan is a hard Italian cheese that is fully flavoured. If you had pasta at an Italian restaurant, you will notice strikes of grated cheese on top. This is Parmesan! Also called parm, this cheese is made from cow’s milk but it is fully aged. For trivia, fully aged cheese is a variety that is fermented for at least six months. It tends to have a sharp taste and firm structure and aged cheese is safe to eat, the longer duration just gives it a deeper and nuttier taste.
An authentic slice of parmesan is called Parmigiano Reggiano. It is sold under different names depending on the age of the cheese. It is called Giovane when it is 14-18 months, vecchio when it is been ageing for 18-24 months and stravecchio if it is over 24 months old.
How to use Parmesan?
This cheese is a great addition to a charcuterie board. You can use it for garnishing pasta, casseroles and toasts. It can be used in stuffing roasted chicken while cooking macaroni and cheese and mashed potato dishes.
How to buy parmesan?
Parm is an expensive cheese so you can always purchase it in lower quantities if you have little use for it. But prevent purchasing its pre-grated version. Most pre-grated cheeses are highly processed. So there is a good chance you’ll miss the wonderful and delicate flavours of parmesan.
Buy a chunk of this cheese and then cleanly slice it at home. If it’s the original Italian cheese you want, check if ‘Genuine Parmigiano Reggiano’ is stamped on the grind along with the year of production.
How to store parmesan?
You can keep the cheese stored for up to two months. Always ensure to keep it wrapped, if you see a small mould develop on the edges just scoop it out and the cheese will still be safe to use.