Last September 3 we made a Parmesan-style cheese, only our third cheese.... It was a 2 gallon make, resulting in a yield of about 1.5 lbs.... After an initial aging in the cheese cave for a couple of weeks, we got tired of chasing mold, so cleaned it and vacuum bagged it....
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/oo221/rsterne/Parmesan_030920_Email.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) (https://app.photobucket.com/u/rsterne/a/51b71c5f-e26c-457c-b4e4-d8c7586aae7d/p/179906e6-ff3d-418d-8b09-9f8761c133b6)
Today we cracked it, aged 6 months.... It exceeded all our expectations.... 8) .... The rind was quite tough, but the paste was dry yet pliable, with only a tiny crack or two in the center.... It sliced beautifully, and was really tasty, definitely a Parm.... We will be using the first quarter mostly for grating, although it is actually a delightful table cheese right now.... slightly salty, delightfully nutty, with a bit of a bite on the tongue.... It is actually better than any store bought Parmesan we have ever had.... :o
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/oo221/rsterne/Parmesan_Sep3_2020_at_6_mon_Email.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds) (https://app.photobucket.com/u/rsterne/a/51b71c5f-e26c-457c-b4e4-d8c7586aae7d/p/e09f0fc7-65b9-4afc-9da7-4476718e8cfb)
The remaining three quarters are bagged and back in the cave, to be sampled at 12, 18 and 24 months.... I am surprised at how mature this Parm is at just 6 months, perhaps it will not make it all the way to 2 years?.... ::)
Bob
What recipe did you follow? Looks great!
Thanks!.... We followed the recipe in Ricki Caldwell's book "Home Cheesemaking".... We used 7.5 litres of store bought skim milk plus 0.5 litres of 33% cream, for a total of 8 litres of 2% BF.... I'm sure using 2% P/H milk would work just fine....
Bob
Wow.. Your third cheese and it's a Parm AND a success. Congratulations, that is truly awesome! One day I'll try a longer aging cheese but I want to make sure I can consistently make shorter aged cheese. But this sure is an inspiration.
Looks excellent, AC4U!
It will just get better (although I've never gotten past 18 months with a Parm/Romano!)
-L