Re: Reader Question: Store-Bought Parmesan Cheese
Back in December, Mr. Carlucci of Pittsburgh sent us an e-mail about the evolving taste of Kraft brand Parmesan cheese. With a few serious cheese-loving, Italy-traveling, Parmesan-devouring writers in our group, we were determined to set the record straight about Parmesan cheese with
a cheese taste test.
First of all, let me say that there are many brands of imitation Parmesan cheese. According to Wikipedia, "Parmesan is also loosely used as a common term for cheeses imitating true Parmesan cheese, especially outside Europe; within Europe, the Parmesan name is classified as a protected designation of origin." The same holds true for products such as Chianti, Champagne, etc., where the product takes its name from the region where it is produced or grown. In fact, France takes this pretty seriously when it comes to Champagne.
We don't have any factual evidence proving that the brands we tested were imitation. However, we do know that the winner of our taste test was certainly the real thing. (Way to go Costco!) Without further ado, here are our Parmesan cheese tasting notes (numbers represent cheeses in photo):
1. Stella Freshly Shredded: $3.29 for 5 ounces (available at local supermarket, regional brand cheese)
We found this cheese to be average. The texture was a little plastic-y, the taste was slightly bitter and sour, and the flavor was flat.
Overall ranking: 3
2. Kroger Finely Shredded: $3.89 for 6 ounces (available at local supermarket, supermarket brand cheese)
This cheese was above average. The texture was similar to the Stella, but the taste was reportedly saltier and the flavor a little richer. Overall ranking: 2
3. Kraft Italian Natural: $5.59 for 6 ounces (available at local supermarket, international brand of grocery products)
We found this cheese to be below average. The texture was reportedly hard and rubbery. The taste seemed artificial and the flavor was really lacking. Side note: 5 of 7 reviewers specifically noted "bad chewability." Overall ranking: 4
4. Safeway Grated: $2.99 for 3 ounces (available at local supermarket, supermarket brand cheese)
This cheese was way below average. The texture was powdery, the taste was noted as "sawdusty", and the flavor was, well, salty and bitter. One reviewer wouldn’t feed this to his cheese-loving dog. Overall ranking: 5
5. Kirkland Signature: $10.99 for 16 ounces (available at Costco, Costco-brand cheese)
This was the best cheese! The texture was pleasantly crumbly, the taste featured fruity notes, and the flavor was tangy with a balance of citrus. This was the cheese that one tester would "keep around for a weekend glass of wine and the latest Netflix flair". Overall ranking: 1
Lastly, I wrote to Kraft from their website with Mr. Carlucci's question. I received a phone call last week from a Kraft representative who left a voicemail stating, "Kraft has not changed the recipe for their Parmesan cheese in years." He also mentioned that customer tastes have evolved, which may be the reason why our very own Mr. Carlucci was noticing a difference.
In summary, dear readers, we'd love to know your thoughts on Parmesan cheese. And, Mr. Carlucci, if you've had a chance to shop around, have you discovered a new favorite brand?
--Sous-Chef on the Run
PS. America's Test Kitchen did a Parmesan cheese taste test. For more information, check out their taste test on YouTube.
Derek Pavatte on February 02, 2008 at 03:06 AM
Who knew there were so many different types of rice?
Tim on February 04, 2008 at 12:09 PM
Hmm. I buy Parmesan in 2 pound wedges at Sam's. Shred it myself and find it to be quite nice. Costs about 16 bucks for the wedge, and keeps quite well in the refrigerator for up to three months if you wrap it back up with the self sealing handiwrap.
Tyler G on February 04, 2008 at 12:12 PM
I'm more of a cheddar lover but wrt the Kraft comment. They may not change the recipe in year BUT their cheeses (at least their cheddars) vary in taste depending on the time of year.
My wife theorizes that it varies according to what the dairy suppliers are feeding the cows. Don't know if that's the case, but the flavor of the cheese definitely changes over time. I notice because it gets a very "creamy" flavor in the springtime/early summer which makes the cheese inedible to me and it tastes "normal" at other times of the year.
Probably some of the same effect in Parmesan cheeses. I will definitely have to track down some of the Kirkland Parmesan -- sounds great.
PapayaSF on February 04, 2008 at 12:38 PM
If you are serious about flavor, you really should be buying Parmesan in a wedge and grating it yourself as needed. The difference is noticable.
Also, try substituting Asiago for some or all of the Parmesan in a recipe: it's similar but with an extra bit of nutty flavor and zing.
jon spencer on February 04, 2008 at 12:53 PM
If it was not a double blind test, it means nothing.
epoh on February 04, 2008 at 12:58 PM
I also buy my parm in the 'fancy' section of the deli @ Target. (My husband thinks the 'fancy' cheese is silly.) I buy different brands, depending on what's on sale and what looks good, but it's nearly all imported from France and quite tasty. Only takes a second to shred it and is way better than the pre-shredded stuff. Same for pretty much every kind of cheese, as a matter of fact.
Scott on February 04, 2008 at 01:59 PM
I have been a discerning user of pre-grated parmesan cheese for decades now, and here is my one piece of hard-won wisdom: avoid any brand that uses an additive to prevent clumping in the cheese. This is almost always some form of cellulose, and it prevents the cheese from melting together when added to hot dishes. Nearly all major brands add cellulose, but if you can find one that doesn't, it will be worth a try. (In my experience, freshly shredded parmesan cheese is too oily on hot dishes, though excellent on non-hot foods.)
DocScience on February 04, 2008 at 03:17 PM
I would ask the Kraft people why the words "Aged 10 Months" disappeared from the Parmesan cheese packages several years ago.
Methinks their cheese is no longer aged... at least the ground stuff in the canisters.
Gary Ikwns on February 04, 2008 at 03:25 PM
We get a 2 year old aged Regianno (sp?) parmesan From Sam’s club for somewhere around $12.00 a pound. It comes as A triangle wedge and is excellent either shaved or freshly grated. This cheese compares well with other stuff I’ve seen priced at 19.00 per pound. It is the real stuff from Italy.
Even though I used to work for Kraft, Their Parmesan is awful. It’s difficult to differentiate the cheese taste from the cardboard in which it is packed.
Gary Ikens
Aiken SC
Anna on February 04, 2008 at 04:11 PM
My father was a Portuguese immigrant who also served in Italy during WWI, assimilated in every way except his palate that longed for Old World delicacies. Thus several times a year we would drive some distance to shop an Italian store located in a grungy part of the city but with mysterious and lovely fragrances. Among the many items we stocked up on, large blocks of Parmasan were typical. I mean really large, 5lbs maybe? My mother kept the block tightly wrapped in cheese cloth,which was then placed in a container of some sort and stored in our fruit cellar. I have never found a store-brand Parmasan that could compare, or even those that claim to be imported, but alas my addiction to the stuff can stoop pretty low, much like a wino's. The aging process would seem to be the primary difference.
Bill on February 04, 2008 at 04:22 PM
I just checked the wedge in our kitchen, which came from Costco. It is a true Parmigiano Reggiano and we find it to be excellent.
The pre-shredded stuff I find to be universally awful. Not the same flavor, texture, or anything else. The Costco wedges are about half the price that we find a true Reggiano in the local stores. It keeps quite well, so if you do any reasonable amount of cooking you can justify a wedge in your kitchen. Costco also beats any other prices I've seen here on aged cheddar, especially since they've started carrying the Cabot blocks.
mandy on February 04, 2008 at 05:22 PM
Tim - Your wife is spot-on with her theory! Cows' feed choices change over the course of the year. In the winter, there's less pasture available so we dairy producers feed a little more dry hay. As a cheesemaker, I can definitely smell the difference when the milk pours into the vat on a balmy spring day vs. a cold November day! Typically, these harder cheeses that come in large quantities (15 to 20-lb. wheels) like the parmesan, gruyere, etc. are called "winter cheeses" because they're made in the spring when pastures are lush and then aged until the winter (maybe even the winter of the following year!) when they're released. So, the changes in the flavors you're noticing (great job, by the way!) are the direct effects of what the cows eat. :)
Dave Schuler on February 04, 2008 at 06:47 PM
Next time you're at Costco, try the Dubliner. It's an Irish-made Parmesan style cheese. The price is right and we find it an excellent utility cheese, good for both eating and grating.
fenoy on February 04, 2008 at 06:57 PM
Always check the content label on cheeses for cellulose (mainly obtained from wood pulp and cotton). Cellulose is frequently present in what I consider to be below average cheeses. For some strange reason I perfer my cheeses to contain milk without the addition of cellulose.
Pink Pig on February 04, 2008 at 10:07 PM
There's no harm in doing a taste test, but any resemblance between these "cheeses" and real Parmigiano-Reggiano is purely coincidental.
First, a little bit of context. What we call "Parmesan" cheese is known to the rest of the world as "Parmigiano". It belongs to the cheese family known as "grana". Any grana from Parma can legitimately call itself Parmigiano, but the universally acknowledged best version is Parmigiano-Reggiano. (Most of it is not from Parma itself, but from the neighboring town of Reggio Emiliano, hence the name. Emilia is the name of the province in which both towns are located -- there's another Reggio in Calabria, so it's customary to add the qualifier just to be sure -- it can also be called Reggio in Emilia or simply Reggio Emilia.)
It can of course be grated, and that is the most common use of it, but it is also a very fine eating cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano comes in large wheels (a couple of hundred pounds), with the name clearly stenciled on the circumference of the rind. If it is to be sold in pieces, as it usually is, then each piece should have enough of the rind to clearly identify it as Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Grana Padana is the usual lower-cost substitute in Italy. It's quite good, both for grating and eating.
It's called "grana" because its texture is slightly grainy. There are substitutes made in various countries, notably Argentina, which are tolerable, but the stuff you get already grated in the US is virtually unrelated to real Parmigiano in any sense. Go ahead and use it if you like it, but don't expect that a visitor from Italy (or for that matter Argentina) will share your taste.
These days, there's no reason to avoid the genuine article. I used to buy big chunks of it at Sam's Club, and more recently I get the same thing at BJ's (our local Sam's is closed). Even the local supermarkets carry genuine Parmigiano-Reggiano, along with various lesser (but cheaper) substitutes. If you're going to store it for more than a few weeks, you should wrap it in a cloth soaked in milk and put it in the cheese compartment of your refrigerator -- otherwise it will harden and become rubbery, which it shouldn't be.
Prices probably vary a lot, but $10-$15 a pound is a good target range.
The rind is pretty much inedible, but you can use it to flavor soups -- just throw it in the soup pot.
Dave M. on February 05, 2008 at 12:20 AM
I'd like to put my two cents in for Trader Joes pre-grated Parmesan. Actually, they sell three grated varieties: straight parmesan, straight Romano, and a blend of Parmesan/Romano. I like the blend best and find it makes a tasty, cheap substitute for authentic Parmigiano Reggiano. A largish plastic tub is only about $3.00 whereas a goodly wedge of authentic PR that might yield roughly the same amount could set you back $12-14.
kiwikit on February 05, 2008 at 03:43 AM
I buy blocks of asiago and grate it in the food processor. It keeps well in zip lock bags. It's much tastier and less salty than any parmesan.
kiwikit on February 05, 2008 at 03:44 AM
I buy blocks of asiago and grate it in the food processor. It keeps well in zip lock bags. It's much tastier and less salty than any parmesan.
Jamie on February 05, 2008 at 04:12 AM
Side note: I understand that winter butter used to be colored yellow (I don't know if it still is) because winter feed yielded white butter and people didn't like it that way. It's nice to know that even in a world where kids could be forgiven for thinking carrots are uniformly two inches long and half an inch wide, and shaped like thumbs, actual "conditions on the ground" can still affect the flavor of food!
Dave Schuler, thanks for the info on Dubliner - I didn't realize it was a "Parmesan style," figuring it for a really dry, sharp Cheddar-style. Hadn't tried it grated on things. I love it, though, and second your assessment that it's a great utility cheese!
And I third everybody's recommendation of Sam's/Costco giant wedges. We always have a big hunk of Parmagiano-Reggiano from Sam's in the fridge.