EL NOOR GARDENS · HOME CHEESEMAKING

PARMESAN CHEESE

A hard Italian-style grating cheese for 10 litres of milk. Traditional Parmigiano Reggiano follows protected production rules in Italy; this is a practical home Parmesan-style method.

Ingredients

• 10 L milk, ideally a blend of full-cream and partly skimmed milk
• Thermophilic starter culture, according to packet dose
• Optional lipase, according to packet dose, for a sharper Italian-style flavour
• Calcium chloride, about 2.5 mL diluted (for pasteurised milk)
• Single-strength liquid rennet, about 2.5 mL diluted
• 18–20% saturated-style cheese brine

Method

1. Warm the milk to about 32–33°C. Add the thermophilic culture and allow it to ripen for 30–45 minutes.
2. Add calcium chloride, then diluted rennet. Leave undisturbed until a clean break forms.
3. Cut the curd very finely, gradually reducing it to rice-grain size.
4. Stir while slowly raising the temperature to about 50–52°C over 40–50 minutes. Keep the curds moving so they remain separate.
5. Hold near the final temperature until the curds are very firm, dry and squeaky between the fingers.
6. Allow the curds to settle, gather them into a mass and transfer to a cloth-lined mould.
7. Press initially with moderate weight, then turn and progressively increase the pressure. Press for 12–24 hours, turning several times early in the process.
8. Brine the wheel in 18–20% brine. A home-scale wheel around 1 kg generally needs about 12–18 hours, turned halfway through.
9. Dry until the rind is firm and no longer damp. Mature at 10–13°C with about 80–85% humidity, turning regularly.
10. Age at least 8–12 months for a hard grating cheese; 18 months or longer develops a much deeper flavour.