Storing Parmigiano Reggiano

[Human Bean]

I was at my local Costco today, and noticed that they had wedges of Parmigiano Reggiano in a refrigerator case. $10 per pound; a reasonable price. It appears to be the real thing, judging from the printing on the rind - I doubt it's bogus or counterfeit, but I'd have to look closer.

I understand that a P-Reg really should be tasted before purchase, but I'm not that critical. I've bought small chunks that smelled rather like old socks, but tasted okay. I'm not looking for the best of the best, just something that will be noticeably better than generic 'Parmesan.'

The wedges average about 1.75 pounds, which is far more than I can consume in a short time. I've frozen P-Reg before for storage, but have heard conflicting advice about that.

So, freeze or refrigerate for long-term (several months) storage?

[malcolmjolley]

Store it?

[Jason Perlow]

Refrigerate. Properly stored in a plastic container or wrapped up in one of those heavy duty ziplocks it can last for a year, easily.

[Bouland]

The wedges average about 1.75 pounds, which is far more than I can consume in a short time. I've frozen P-Reg before for storage, but have heard conflicting advice about that.

So, freeze or refrigerate for long-term (several months) storage?

Because of its low water content, Parmesano-Regianno lasts quite nice under refrigeration. I can't ever remember it going moldy. For a 1.75-pound piece you could portion it into 3 or 4 smaller pieces and vacuum pack the ones you want to refrigerate longer, if you don't want to chance it.

[Jason Perlow]

For a 1.75-pound piece you could portion it into 3 or 4 smaller pieces and vacuum pack the ones you want to refrigerate longer, if you don't want to chance it.

Yes, the Telia Foodsaver works nicely for this purpose, with pretty much all kinds of hard cheeses. We use it all the time for that.

[Bux]

I have found that even wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator, it can appear to have an indefinite life span, but it can dry out and it can lose flavor. I imagine vacuum packing would be an improvement to just plastic warp, even the really sticky kind, but I'd prefer to eat it as freshly cut as possible. Ideally, as one can do in Italy, I'd hope to buy it in small quantities from a shop that sells at least a wheel a day. Outside of Italy, that may be hard to do, but not impossible.

[Jason Perlow]

Even the huge blocks of Parmigiano Reggiano don't last long in this house. Sometimes I just break chunks of it off and eat it as a midnight snack with a few slices of salami or prosciutto.

[Dana]

I vote for the vacuum seal method as well. We bought some pecorino in Italy in the fall of 2001. Had is vacc'd at the shop. Brought it home. Used the last the other day. Still great. Told the husband that it's time to go back to Italy - we're out of cheese.

[Human Bean]

Thanks for the suggestions; I'd tend to think that a low-moisture cheese would be mold-resistant, and suitable for long-term refrigerator storage; I've never tried it.

I don't own one of those vacuum sealers, and they seem to be rather expensive, although they do seem to be useful. I'll definitely consider it.

But can anyone say that freezing is a bad thing for P-Reg, or other cheeses in general? Since there's not much water, you don't have the problem of ice crystals destroying it, and I've never noticed any irrevocable damage, except for a brick of co-jack that was way too crumbly after thawing. Co-jack has a much higher water content than P-Reg, so I'm not surprised at this.

[tommy]

if you're not using 2 lbs of it in a few weeks, you're using much too little to begin with.

[essvee]

Marcella says don't wrap it in plastic; wrap it first in cheesecloth and then in aluminum foil and put it in the crisper. If the cheese dries out, you can gently moisten the cheesecloth for a while. Plastic is the death of cheese.

[Suzanne F]

Freezing isn't necessarily bad; it's just unnecessary. Wrap it well, as others have suggested, and keep it in the fridge. If a sort of whitish film develops on the surface, that's due to either plastic wrapping, or salt leeching out. In either case, nothing to worry about, just scrape it off. Even if a little blue-green mold develops, just scrape it off.

And if it dries out to the point where you can't cut or grate it, make stock with it! A terrific base for minestrone or pasta sauces.

[tjaehnigen]

Parmigiano Reggiano is great with leftover red wine. I like to use a veggie peeler to strip off a 'peel' of it. mmmyeah