Parmesan cheese

I love minestrone soup but would never add Parmesan cheese to it even if it is the traditional accompaniment.

To me it tastes & smells like vomit!!

Agree or disagree?

I donā€™t drink/eat soup but spag bol without parmesan would be like Morecombe without Wise.

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Iā€™m not keen on minestrone soup but I love freshly grated Parmesan cheese on pasta dishes.

I wouldnā€™t fancy eating Parmesan if it smelt like vomit, though!

I remember in the old days, when Parmesan in UK came ready grated in little cardboard containers - that did whiff a lot - a cross between vomit and sweaty socks!
Itā€™s the butyric acid that causes that smell in some Parmesan cheeses and in vomit - the older the cheese, the stronger it smells.
I think cheap, ready grated Parmesan, like the stuff in those cardboard cartons, may contain ā€œcheese analoguesā€ too, which is cheaper blended fats - I think it smells and tastes horrible.

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Apparently - if it is just labelled ā€˜Parmesanā€™ it can be made anywhere - much like Cheddar etc., If you want the genuine stuff it must be labelled ā€™ Parmigiano-Reggianoā€™. I buy mine from the Italian deli in town and it is delicious.

Would never buy any cheese ready grated because as soon as it is grated cheese begins to oxidise which alters the taste.

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My Husband doesnā€™t like Parmesan cheese, but I love it on Ravoli.

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Agreed, except I think there are better hard cheeses like Ilha Sao Jorge.

I use Parmesan to make spaghetti fritters.
Itā€™s a pretty versatile dish as you can fine tune it according to taste and whatā€™s available in the larder.

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I loathed Parmesan cheese for the longest time until I tasted the ā€œproperā€ fresh stuff. There is hardly any smell from that apart from possibly a creamy soft smell. But the grated stuff in plastic packets, ugh, that is too disgusting for words. Iā€™m still not a fan, but I can eat it.

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I am probably a cheese philistine I buy 1kg blocks of Australian Cheddar or Colby, packets of Parmesan and occasional $3 blocks of Brie which I eat as is.

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None of that foreign muck here :wink:

we get a wedge of this off the block from the Portuguese deli, nice in sandwiches. As it dries/hardens it develops a really strong flavour ā€¦ nice in cooking.

queijo ilha sao jorge

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I usually buy Parmigiano-Reggiano from my local traditional grocery shop - it has a fabulous delicatessen counter with a large range of continental cheeses and a great variety of UK regional cheeses too.

Grana Padano is one of my favourite hard Italian cheeses - I often use that instead of Parmesan when cooking Italian food.
It is very versatile to use grated or shaved to add a delicious flavour to all sorts of dishes - I love it grated in tomato omelettes or thin shavings of it sprinkled on a bowl of salad.

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Parmigiano-Reggiano ā€¦ rings a bell. Weā€™ve bought the odd lump thinking it was Parmesan.

It is - the proper stuff - made only in Italy! Delicious.

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I love it, but if you donā€™t you donā€™t, it can smell a bit like feet :foot::foot:

The good thing about it though is because the taste is so intense, you donā€™t need much of it, so good for calorie counters :cheese:šŸŖ¤

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Iā€™ve watched Italian TV chef Giada ā€¦ grates it on everything, then when sheā€™s left with just the skin she throws it in some stew ā€¦ it doesnā€™t melt but the flavour is released.

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Waste not - want not! :smiley_cat: :smiley_cat:

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Yay ā€¦

Iā€™m a dab hand, d00d!

Stalks and leaves from cauliflower and brocolli go into the stock pot.
Marmite/Bovril jars are rinsed with hot water and the results added to gravy or soup.
The spicey ā€˜dustā€™ from dry roast peanuts goes into stir frys !!

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can stick to a licked finger ā€¦

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