Parmigiano Reggiano, the gold standard for quality aged Italian cheese, is a staple in my house. There’s always a couple of hunks of the stuff in my fridge. When I need to grate more than a few shavings, I save time and elbow grease by pulverizing it in the food processor, no grating attachment necessary. First, cut the cheese off of the rind. Then, put it into the processor fitted with a metal blade and let it run. Within a minute or two, the cheese transforms into tiny grains just like you might get if you bought it pre-grated from a good Italian deli. Only this time, it’s up-to-the-minute fresh.
As for the those leftover rinds, don’t throw them out. Store them in the freezer. The next time you cook up a pot of beans, a tomato-based pasta sauce, or a vegetable soup, let the Parmesan rind bubble away along with the rest of the ingredients. It imparts a subtle, delicious flavor to whatever you’ve prepared. Simply throw out the rind when you are ready to serve.
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Kevin was hoping that this was a recipe for the cheese in a can!
Vicki, we probably won’t be doing squeeze cheese any time soon. Sorry Kevin!
What’s the trick to keeping the hunk of Parmesan in my fridge from getting moldy? I feel like when I was a kid, we had massive pieces of Parmesan that stayed in the fridge for MONTHS. Nowadays, they seem to get moldy too soon…
Keeping it in a ziplock bag in the fridge it should last up to two months. Avoid wrapping it in tight plastic because that can cause it to sweat and then mold more quickly. I’ve also heard that wrapping it in cheese paper and then putting it in a bag is a good trick, but a little too much fuss for me. If it does mold, simply cut off the icky bits and you are good to go.
Thanks for the tip on easy grating–I’ve been using one of those little hardware store zester/graters, and it’s just such a pain to do it every time (and the cheese goes all over my counter).
I like those grater/zesters for a little shower of cheese over a plate of pasta, but for grating any volume of cheese, the food processor saves time.
I’ve tried this. It doesn’t grate it fine, just little balls. I think there is too much oil in the cheese. I have a good cuisinart. Any tips?
Hi Sharon, when I use a softer cheese such as Cheddar I get the little balls, but I find if I pulse the Parmesan in the food processor it will break down smaller…maybe not quite as fine as you’ll get in an Italian deli, but pretty close.