This is an Italian favorite! It's a hard, dry cheese from skimmed cow's milk and has good sharp flavor. Parmesan is made throughout the world, but reputedly the best variety comes from Italy: the Parmigiano-Reggiano, which has a distinctive granular texture. Parmesans are used mainly in their grated form and always best if you grate them fresh, rather than buying pre-grated.
PAHR-muh-zahn] This hard, dry cheese is made from skimmed or partially skimmed cow`s milk. It has a hard, pale-golden rind and a straw-colored interior with a rich, sharp flavor. There are Parmesan cheeses made in Argentina, Australia and the United States, but none compares with Italy`s preeminent Parmigiano-Reggiano, with its granular texture that melts in the mouth.
A cow's milk cheese whose taste ranges from sweet to sharp. It is a hard cheese, most suitable for grating. Officially, only Parmigiano Reggiano from the Italian area of Emilia-Romagna may be called Parmesan. Asiago and Romano cheeses are good substitutes for Parmesan. Back to the top
Hard, thick crusted Italian cheese with a sharp, salty full flavor resulting from at least two years of aging.
A dry cow's milk cheese. The world's finest quality parmesan is "Parmigiano-Reggiano." After it is aged 3 years, it is called "Stravechhio." At 4 years, they're called "Stavecchions." U.S. parmesans are aged about 14 months.