Delicious Australia – (08)August 2019

LASTYEARWEwereluckyenoughto

seethebirthoftwinsin thepicturesque

countrysideofNorthernItaly.Butthis

birthwasnotofthehumankind,this

involvedseeingtwo45-kilogram

ParmigianoReggianowheelsarising

froma deepcoppercauldronwiththe

helpofmasterfulcheesemakers.

Rightfullyknownasthe‘KingofItalian

Cheese’,ParmigianoReggianois

a fascinating,versatileandmouth-

wateringcheese,anda must-have

intherefrigeratoratalltimes!

Tobearthename‘Parmigiano

Reggiano’,thecheesemustmeetstrict

criteria.It canonlybemadeusinga

blendofrawfull-creammilkandskimmed

milksourcedfromparticularprovinces,

fromcowsthatarefeda dietofhayor

grass.Andit mustbeagedfora

minimumof 12 monthsin a specificarea

ofNorthernItaly.Eachwheelmustthen

undergo rigorous inspections, some of

QualityParmigianowillelevatemany

a dish,butwillalsostandonitsown

ona cheeseboard.Servebite-sized

chunkswitha dropofextra-aged

balsamic vinegar as an appetiser.

PARMIGIANOREGGIANOCRISPS

Scatterthesegoldencrispychipsontopof

risottos, soups or salads for a hit of flavour.

100gParmigianoReggiano(we used

Cravero),finelygrated

12 sage leaves

Preheattheovento160°C.Linea baking

traywithbakingpaperandscattergrated

Parmigianoin a thin,evenlayer.Arrange

sageleavesoverthetop,pressinggently

intothecheese.Bakefor12-15minutesor

untildeepgolden.Removefromtheoven

andallowtocoolcompletely.Breakinto

shardsthenscatterwithfreshlyground

black pepper. Store in an airtight container.

whichincludetappingeachcheese

witha hammertoidentifycracks,

andthenevaluatedbyaconsorzio,

orconsortium,forcolour,texture,aroma

andqualitybeforeit canbeofficially

labelled Parmigiano Reggiano.

SELECTINGANDSERVING

Despitepopularbelief,flavourandtexture

outweightheageoftheParmigiano,so

don’tbefooledbya two-orthree-year

agedcheesebeingsoldas‘premium’.

A goodParmigianohascomplex

flavours,includinga butterscotch

sweetnessanda succulent,nuttytexture.

Youmayevencrunchdownon

somesweetandsaltycrystals.

Werecommendgoingforthereal

dealParmigianoReggiano,asanything

labelled‘parmesan’meansit hasbeen

madein thestyleoftheauthentic

cheese.If possible,trybeforeyoubuy,

concentrating on flavour and texture. PHOTOGRAPHY

BRETT

STEVENS

STYLING

KIRSTEN JENKINS

MERCHANDISING

EMMALY STEWART

@thestuddsiblings

THE BIG

WHEEL

Theremaybeendlessvarietiesof

formaggio, writeEllieand Sam Studd,

this Northern Italian cheese rules all.

52 delicious.com.au