Professional cheese-testers approach a
Parmigiano-Reggiano with something not unlike the kind of gravity Harley Street
doctors reserve for important patients. They hold the cheese-owner in suspense
until all of the above eight points have been thoroughly checked.The
cheese-tester works with a percussion hammer, a screw-needle and a sampling
dowel. With his hammer, the expert knocks the cheese at various points while
listening carefully to the
way the crust
takes the blows. This tells him what is going on inside in much the same way as
does a stethoscope. The cheese is then pierced with the screw-needle to extract
a minute sample of the contents. The resistance of the cheese indicates
something of its internal consistency, and the sample enables the expert to
judge the aroma and degree of' maturation. The sampling dowel is resorted to
only in exceptional cases, when the aforementioned methods have failed to elicit
a diagnosis.
The rind or crust of Parmigiano-Reggiano is its natural protective casing, a peripheral hardening of the cheese which begins during the first formative days and comes to completion with its maturation. It is about five millimetres thick. This rind is edible and should not be wasted. After external scraping to remove any impurities, it can be used in cooking or to flavour soups with excellent results. The rind bears the markings which guarantee the genuine product and certify its origin. Because these are imprinted continously over the vertical "wall" of the cheese, they appear on each of the portions or wedges into which it is divided. Therefore, every piece of cheese sold should include the rind, not only because of the guarantee but also because it helps to keep the cheese fresh. Parmigiano-Reggiano should never be purchased already grated unless the customer has the opportunity to ascertain that it is in fact genuine Parmigiano-Reggiano.
The almond shaped knife
When a Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is cut up for retail sale over the counter,
one of the things that often strikes the observer is the unusual instrument used.
This is a special type of knife, with a short, almond-shaped, pointed blade. One
side is thinner than the other so that as the blade penetrates, it functions as
a wedge, separating the severed walls of cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano is actually
"opened" rather than cut, and the resulting crack leaves the internal
structure and characteristic crumbliness intact. To open the whole cheese, a
line is drawn with the knife-point to divide the form in halves along the
diameter over top and bottom flat ends, and down over the convex walls.
The rind is then cut along this line to a depth of one or two centimetres.
Finally, at both ends of the diameter line of one face, i.e., at the juncture of
flat surface and flank, two knives are driven in together, then pulled apart,
until the entire cheese splits into equal parts. This procedure calls for
experience and care, the cheese will divide properly only if its internal
structure is in a condition to offer the same resistance on one side as on the
other. The same method is used for further division.
To cut a half into quarters, a 90 degree radius line is traced with the knife
point, the half cheese being cut along this line and split again; a quarter is
divided into eighths along a 45 degree radius and so on. In this way, the
proportion of rind to soft cheese remains constant for every piece.
The portioning and packaging of cheese
Packaged cheese portions are available for retail sale in order to satisfy
any need of the consumers.
The advantages of Parmigiano-Reggiano portion packaging are the prevention of
loss of moisture (and therefore reduction in weight), the protection against
moulds, external micro-organisms and insects, the convenience for the customer
to have small packs of known keeping quality.
The storage
Even if Parmigiano-Reggiano is the only cheese which does not deteriorate
rapidly, the problem of keeping it in the home is the most important for the
housewife in a few weeks the piece of cheese dries out to become unattractive
and if the cheese is held under conditions of hight humidity mold growth begins
soon.
To prevent all these troubles the small portions of cheese wrapped with special
films, foils, laminates or in vacuum packages and stored in the refrigerator at
5"C can be kept satisfactorily fol, a long period of time and preserve the
flavour and fragrance typical of this unmistakable cheese.