Time to play know your grating cheeses. Excited? Me too!
The standard go-too cheese is today's showcase; Parmigiano Reggiano, but for the poor college student such as myself there are times when substitutes must be made. Fortunately for me and everyone else watching what they spend there are some suitable substitutes that, while they fall short of the reign of Parmigiano, are certainly good and come at a considerably more reasonable price.
The first two are also from Italy and are usually just as easy to find as Parmigiano, delivering a good deal of flavor for about half the price. Grana Padano is actually made in some of the same regions as
the "king" but is not controlled by Italian law and is never aged as long, resulting in a flavor that can resemble Parmigiano when grated onto pasta and for getting a sharper, saltier flavor in dishes, but without the depth of flavor of it's more distinguished cousin.
Next to that we have a bit of a departure, Pecorino Romano. This, as the name implies, is a sheep's milk cheese from southern Italy. Salty, sour, and sharp as all get out, it'll meet your flavor intensity requirements for sure. And then some. The flavor profile is, of course, fundamentally different than Parmigiano due to its coming from a sheep and not a cow but it grates beautifully onto pasta and will sharpen up any dish you prepare with it. It will definitely be cheaper than Parmigiano and but has a flavor all its own to stand on.
Departing slightly from the realm of traditional pasta cheeses we come to a few outliers that the bold of spirit and palate can pursue, far from the fair pastures of Italy. Gouda, when aged past the year and a half or two year mark, has a texture, crumble, and sharp saltiness of its own, and as it turns out is just delicious as an eating cheese as grated onto pasta for a slightly sweeter garnish. Dry Jack too, in its age and wisdom, has such a rich and strong flavor that it will retain its intensity even when grated into tiny pieces over pasta or shaved thin and paired with fruit. The winner of the odd grating cheese game, though, comes from Switzerland. Sapsago, a cheese which I have admittedly not yet tried, is a fat-free novelty cheese that has a pale-green color and apparently is grated over hot noodles to add a sharp, herby flavor. Go figure. The point is you can and should be able to add some cheese to your next pasta dish without breaking the bank, so while Parmigiano will always reign supreme there's no shame in trying one of these other grating cheeses and expanding your mind.
The standard go-too cheese is today's showcase; Parmigiano Reggiano, but for the poor college student such as myself there are times when substitutes must be made. Fortunately for me and everyone else watching what they spend there are some suitable substitutes that, while they fall short of the reign of Parmigiano, are certainly good and come at a considerably more reasonable price.
The first two are also from Italy and are usually just as easy to find as Parmigiano, delivering a good deal of flavor for about half the price. Grana Padano is actually made in some of the same regions as
Next to that we have a bit of a departure, Pecorino Romano. This, as the name implies, is a sheep's milk cheese from southern Italy. Salty, sour, and sharp as all get out, it'll meet your flavor intensity requirements for sure. And then some. The flavor profile is, of course, fundamentally different than Parmigiano due to its coming from a sheep and not a cow but it grates beautifully onto pasta and will sharpen up any dish you prepare with it. It will definitely be cheaper than Parmigiano and but has a flavor all its own to stand on.Departing slightly from the realm of traditional pasta cheeses we come to a few outliers that the bold of spirit and palate can pursue, far from the fair pastures of Italy. Gouda, when aged past the year and a half or two year mark, has a texture, crumble, and sharp saltiness of its own, and as it turns out is just delicious as an eating cheese as grated onto pasta for a slightly sweeter garnish. Dry Jack too, in its age and wisdom, has such a rich and strong flavor that it will retain its intensity even when grated into tiny pieces over pasta or shaved thin and paired with fruit. The winner of the odd grating cheese game, though, comes from Switzerland. Sapsago, a cheese which I have admittedly not yet tried, is a fat-free novelty cheese that has a pale-green color and apparently is grated over hot noodles to add a sharp, herby flavor. Go figure. The point is you can and should be able to add some cheese to your next pasta dish without breaking the bank, so while Parmigiano will always reign supreme there's no shame in trying one of these other grating cheeses and expanding your mind.
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