parmesan too hard

[george]

Ummm ... is the parm recipe one of the one's in Ricki's book that has a typo?  I know there's one in a Swiss type, thought there was at least one more.  Could it have been the parm?

[mavmd]

No, I just use the online recipe from the website and follow the directions as written.  It is for three gallons of milk and the e28 mold 7"Hx5.5"W.  I will try to delete the other identity when at work.  I have no idea why there are two identities.  Probably registered twice and forgot my password and username.

[margaretsmall]

Not split personality then?

[mavmd]

I keep telling him to stop making cheese and stick to bread but he will not listen.

[Boofer]

I keep telling him to stop making cheese and stick to bread but he will not listen.

-Boofer-

[feather]

This is an old thread. The hardness of parmesan.

Reading up on large 100 lb parmesan wheels they age and lose approximately 17% of their moisture. So when I make it, and I've made it 15 times, it can age for a few months in the cheese cave. When it has lost 17% of its moisture, then either wax it or vacuum pack it. This worked well for me and I make 4 gallon batches.

I prefer the parmesan to be softer for easier shredding/grating. For this, I dry it for a week or so, then wax or vacuum pack it. The only issue with this 'wetter' parmesan is that it will mold easier too, so keep it frozen or in the refrigerator after shredding/grating if you do it in advance of using it.

[Andrew Marshallsay]

A point which has been touched on in a few of the replies and I think is an important one, is that the cheeses that most amateurs make are significantly smaller than commercial cheeses. This means that they will dry out faster.
We may want to stay true to the traditional methods for the cheese, be it Parmesan or something else, but this is not realistic with small wheels. That is where the waxing or vacuum bagging, as Feather and others have suggested, becomes important.

[River Bottom Farm]

How do you measure or decide what is 17% of the moisture? Do you weight the cheese and let 17% of the total weight go or do you calculate the moisture level to start? Just wondering how you do it?

[feather]

How do you measure or decide what is 17% of the moisture? Do you weight the cheese and let 17% of the total weight go or do you calculate the moisture level to start? Just wondering how you do it?

Yes that is exactly what I do. I measure the weight going in, calculate the weight at 17% less, when it weighs that and it will have a hard rind, it is ready to vacuum pack or wax. I find that even though the rind is rock hard when sealing it up, it softens from the moisture in the middle and at the end of aging, it is uniformly moist enough, not rock hard and I'm able to grate it.

I wouldn't know how to measure the moisture level to start with.