July 14, 2003
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Lidia takes chunks of this cheese, dips in rich balsamic syrup, and eats it. Just like that.
The first time I witnessed her doing so I think my jaw must have dropped. I had never considered the possibility that hard cheeses could be eated in such copious quantities.
For many, this was our first experience with parmesan "cheese". It's purpose? Why, to dash over spaghetti, of course.
It wasn't until much later that I experienced the true stuff, the wheels of parmigiano reggiano, grated, shredded, or crumbled over salads and pastas. And it wasn't until Lidia opened my eyes that I realized the full potential of hard cheeses.
It's true; they can be eated plain, in slices or chunks. It's delicious. The flavor is much more potent than the soft cheeses, as the hard cheeses are much drier and more mature. It is incredibly nutty, and in fact the good ones are surprisingly creamy.
Do try dipping it in balsamic vinegar. The trick is finding a good quality vinegar. The highest quality ones are thick and syrupy, not the thin watery stuff that we are used to. Since we heard this, Connie and I will obsessively head to the vinegar section of the grocery store and check out all the bottles of balsamic, tippng them, shaking them, holding them up to the light, and trying to determine their relative syrupyness.
The thickest one we found retailed for about $40; however, on-line they can get quite expensive. I have not yet mustered up the nerve to shell out $40 for a small bottle of vinegar, but it is definitely on my list of items to try.
Posted by anne at July 14, 2003 04:06 PM | TrackBack