7 months old parmesan

[Al Lewis]

They age the Italian stuff 1 year minimum, 18 months for export to Canada.  I guess there's a reason.  The one I did was also alright but no where near the awesome taste of real Parmigiano Reggiano.  Looks like you did manage to save it though Ann.  Great job! AC4U!

[AnnDee]

Looks great Ann!  AC4U

IMO, raw milk is the only way to go.  Yes, it is expensive for me but I don't have to use Calcium Chloride anymore and the results are always far superior to p/h milk.  The only thing I do now is a low temperature pasteurization for young cheeses.  Anything aged eight weeks are longer, full raw all the way.

Thank you John. I agree with you, I normally use only raw milk but there was few times which local milk supplier sent gallons of milk for me to try and I supposed now we know the difference.

They age the Italian stuff 1 year minimum, 18 months for export to Canada.  I guess there's a reason.  The one I did was also alright but no where near the awesome taste of real Parmigiano Reggiano.  Looks like you did manage to save it though Ann.  Great job! AC4U!

Thank you Al. I think with more time it will get better, I am hopeful now. I vac seal it and age it longer now, hopefully after 3-4 months it will get even better. What is funny, the PH milk parm has a lot of more crunchies than the raw milk but really lacking in taste, so I will start using it now for cooking. I actually was not planning on cutting it opened but after taking a core sample, I decided it was time

[DoctorCheese]

I have been reluctant to make a parm because I know they need to age a long time and I may have to move in such a way that my cheese caves may be compromised. Happy for you though! AC4U 

[Frodage4]

Hi Ann,
I couldn't wait the full year, but it sounds like you and I have had similar experiences. Hope you enjoyed yours.

At 11 months, I just couldn't wait. So I followed the example on the videos and I cut and cut and cut, and squeezed and sure enough - It cracked! What beautiful insides! And the aroma was even better than in November! Well, the taste wasn't as good as Reggiano, but I wasn't really expecting that. It's good. Umami, and salty, and just a hint of "where have you been all my life?". If I can do this on a first attempt, just imagine my second!

FYI, I've just started a new position in Washington and Oregon, so I expect to meet up with my cheese-friends in the coming months. See you soon!

[AnnDee]

Ah...yours looks devine! I love that it looks like tasty rocky nuggets.
I make bigger wheels of 4-5 kgs but I made a mistake of forgetting a wheel of 6 months old out in 29C for 1 whole day and it puffed up a bit. What say you?

Hi Ann,
I couldn't wait the full year, but it sounds like you and I have had similar experiences. Hope you enjoyed yours.

At 11 months, I just couldn't wait. So I followed the example on the videos and I cut and cut and cut, and squeezed and sure enough - It cracked! What beautiful insides! And the aroma was even better than in November! Well, the taste wasn't as good as Reggiano, but I wasn't really expecting that. It's good. Umami, and salty, and just a hint of "where have you been all my life?". If I can do this on a first attempt, just imagine my second!

FYI, I've just started a new position in Washington and Oregon, so I expect to meet up with my cheese-friends in the coming months. See you soon!

[Frodage4]

Rocky nuggets - that's pretty good. I'm going to call this "Rocky Nugget Gold"! 
Not sure why your cheese bloated, but others suggest bad smelling bacteria can cause that. I think it's called late blowing.

[Gregore]

I am thinking 6 months old is past late blowing .   cut it and smell / taste it .