Facts About Food Friday – Parmesan or Parmigiano?
FAF #7
What is the Difference Between Parmesan and Parmigiano-Reggiano?
Answer: Due to Italian D.O.C. laws that protect the names and recipes of certain cheeses, a cheese cannot be called Parmigiano-Reggiano unless it is made using a specific recipe and production method within the provinces of Parma, Reggio-Emilia, Modena, and specific regions in the provinces of Bologna and Mantua. D.O.C laws are meant to preserve the integrity of traditional cheeses by insuring the flavor and quality. Therefore, any cheese made outside of these regions with a slightly different recipe or production method cannot be called Parmigiano-Reggiano .
A cheese called Parmesan is essentially a cheese that imitates the recipe for Parmigiano-Reggiano, but is made outside of the approved Italian regions.
I actually didn’t know this. I knew there was a difference obviously and that authenticity played a part, but I didn’t know all the specific little details. To be fair, I probably won’t remember all the details either, hehe, but it’s cool to read anyway.
I wonder if there are knock-off cheese labeling attempts. You know how companies will slightly change a symbol or rearrange letters a bit. Sharrpies or Adidos anyone? What about Parmesan-Regggiano or Reggiana or something instead?
I bet there’s a whole underworld of cheese scamming now that I never knew about it. Man, why doesn’t anybody ever tell me these things??
Facts About Food Friday – Did the power go out while you were away?
FAF #6Ever gone out of town and came back to your microwave flashing 12:00? Yep, the power went, but for how long? Did the contents of your freezer thaw out and refreeze, damaging the food inside? Give yourself peace of mind by putting a baggie of ice into the freezer before you leave. If it still looks like ice cubes when you get back, then it’s all good. If the ice has melted and refrozen into a piece of solid ice, you better reconsider the food inside.
I always forget to do this. I have come home to find a snowstorm had hit our home, though, and had to consult neighbors to find out how long the power was out, bleh.
Facts About Food Friday – You ooze, you lose
FAF #3When baking a pie, if you have issues with your filling bubbling or oozing out (oo, you’re losing :P), add a tablespoon of tapica to thicken it up a bit. You can also stand a tube of wide pasta like rigatoni in the middle of the crust to let air out.
I’m going to have to do this and take a picture. I just spent 20 minutes looking for a good picture of a really, messy, oozy pie….and could barely come up with even a slightly messy one. :( Good thing I didn’t look for an example of macaroni sticking out of the center of a pie or I bet I’d be even more disappointed.
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