A fontina, it is not. Accidental Parmesan??

[lauravanb]

This was my second cheese. Aged for 7 weeks. It was supposed to be a fontina. A big mistake i made was using an 8 inch mold for a 2 gallon make (i struggled with geometry in high school, obviously). So its only about an inch thick. I have been watching it over the past several weeks dry up into a proper bludgeoning tool, and lost all hope for it. I decided to cut it open for the hell of it, and I'll be darned if it doesn't look kind of like a Parmesan! And, well, it kinda tastes like one too (at least to my very uneducated palate)! It has a nice, nutty and sharp flavor! I'm pretty pleased and have enjoyed it on a few crackers. Now here's to hoping I don't get sick.. This was one of my first 2 cheeses that I didn't sterilize my equipment for (learning curve).

Laura

[Al Lewis]

Grate it and try it on some pasta.  It may be awesome.

[jwalker]

If it looks good , eat it.

That one does look good , looks like Parmesan to me as well.

[mswhin63]

I hope I make a mistake like this one. 7 Weeks for Parm cool 

[lauravanb]

I hope I make a mistake like this one. 7 Weeks for Parm cool 

I know.. A cheater recipe for sure! I'm sure I'll never be able to reproduce it though!

[wattlebloke]

Mold size can be a real pain when you're starting out (there is so much to learn, and this forum's a great place for that). Most recipes are reliable, but they often refer to mold sizes by weight, which isn't terribly helpful.
On the other hand, I've got a book right here that stipulates an 8" mold for quite a few 2 gallon make cheese recipes, and you would think a good author would know what they're talking about.... I use a 160mm (6 1/2") mold for 2 gallon hard and semi-hard cheeses.