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Oops...I wasn't clear...Just meant I store them together, not that I use them together!

I unbagged my cheese to dry it out a bit more. (I had a recent Swiss where I discovered whey in the bag after 3 months -- the first time that had happened to me, so I decided that all my cheeses perhaps need to be drier.) The Parrano is still in the cave, but I am watching and turning it for a while. May follow some of Sailor's advice on natural rind development (the store-bought Parranos I've had boast a good rind). But I will be watchful for cracking, etc., too.

I ought to  try making another one soon, though, so I have some 'in the queue' for later. (waiting is the worst!)

Once you begin to fill you cave more the waiting will not even phase you. I have so many cheeses in my three mini caves I forget where they are now.

I tried a Parrano recently along with a Vlaskaas. Both had a nice hard, dry rind. Almost no openings in the paste. It would seem that both were pressed at more than 15 pounds for longer than 3 hours.

-Boofer-

I have some parrano  Robusto in the refrigerator I got right from the company for a contest and there is no rind at all. As you know I always press light and in a bucket. Generally over night but they claimed they press for 4 hours. This was also vac packed so less rind than an open air cheese. The flavor and texture was perfect for the Robusto!

DJ--that cheese looks great! I am wondering about your suggestion about adding flavors--what did it taste like? Was it bland?

No Brie not bland at all at 9 months. At the make it was bland and I didn't get around to trying it until 9 months. If you can picture the bite of an aged  provalone with the texture and sweetness of a gouda I think you've got it. I like em sharp so I didn't even consider the young variety.

It is a great snack and pizza cheese with kind of sharp but nutty flavor that I just think is begging to be experimented. I just love peppers or pepperoni in cheese I'm  addicted to both! Very hard for me to think of cooking anything without them! Mama used to say I would turn into a pepperoni some day!

Is Parrano comparable to the Prima Donna cheese?

Similar approach. Prima donna uses a different meso blend that produces more L-lactic acid isomer, tends to form more lactate crystals. And instead of only a helveticus adjunct (like parrano), it incorporates propionic (IIRC, going from memory, but it might not). It's an engineered cheese crafted to create a very specific flavor profile using defined culture strains and a high PF ratio in the milk to get less fat than goudas. But yes, comes from the same school of thought as parrano.

Thank you, linuxboy, for that info.

I will definitely try a Debi's Parrano recipe when my culture order arrives next week.

Jakob S.

FYI - the biggest hits in this years Christmas packages were the Parrano, Parmesan, and Colonia (Italian swiss).  I believe all recipes are post here.

The younger crowd did not really enjoy the sharp aged provalone - expecting the tasteless rubbery store bought crap, but the olde crowd enjoyed the bite. All liked it in grated in soup like a parmesan.

The younger crowd also didn't care for the Garda Tremosine. The biggest complaint biting into the course ground pepper, saying it seemed sandy. My BIL loved it sliced for on sandwiches. Go figure?