What can replace parmesan in dishes?

Nowadays it is difficult to find a person who would never try Mediterranean cuisine. Almost everyone loves hot pizza, thick risotto or pasta with tomato sauce.One of the main components of all these dishes is hard cheese called Parmesan. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to find the original Parmesan now, and the point is not even in its price, even though it is a very expensive product.

Very often the purchase of cheese turns into disappointment, as it turns out to be a fake, which has little in common with the original. In addition, the introduction of sanctions made it almost impossible to access foreign delicacies for residents of many regions.

Hard Italian cheese, which is properly called Parmigiano Reggiano, has a bright orange-yellow color and a dense, grainy texture. It is made from natural milk without admixtures of synthetic substances and has a strongly pronounced sharp-salty taste. After Parmesan is swallowed up, a tingling sensation remains in the tongue for a long time. This is a very fragile product that does not stretch when melted, but forms a uniform crust. It is prepared for several years from a large volume of milk, on top of the cheese is covered with a natural crust, so this crust need not be peeled off before use.

In addition to hot dishes, in which Parmesan is melted, it is consumed fresh in various salads, for example, in Caesar salad. Italians often eat spicy-salty delicacy with sweet chocolate or fruit, as the combination of cheese with sweets gives it a more piquant aftertaste and better reveals its sharpness. Parmesan is considered one of the dietary cheeses, as it contains a lot of protein (36 g) and a small amount of carbohydrates (4 g) per 100 g of product. The nutritional value of hard cheese is 392 kcal per 100 g, it contains a lot of useful acids and vitamins.

For those who are overweight, a pleasant discovery may be that butyl acid contained in the Italian delicacy contributes to the breakdown of fats. Hard cheeses are often included in the diet of losing weight and those who play sports, of course, in small quantities, since their fat content is about 28 g per 100 g of product.

The disadvantages of Parmigiano Reggiano can be attributed to its high salinity, which is contraindicated for people suffering from kidney disease and high edema. In addition, those people who have frequent migraines, also have to give up the use of Parmesan, as it contains a substance that exacerbates the attacks.

By tradition, the production of Parmesan in Italy begins annually on April 1st. In order to get one 40-kilogram head of hard cheese, according to the classic recipe, you will need about 500-600 liters of fresh milk obtained by hand-milking. A special serum is added to the liquid, and the mixture is heated over low heat. Rennet is added to the hot milk, which is responsible for the folding of the product.

The resulting mass is crushed, wrapped in a dense fabric and placed for several hours in round forms under the oppression. Formed heads are soaked for several weeks in a special brine, after which they are placed in special cellars for aging for several years. In such rooms a certain temperature and humidity of the air must be maintained, which do not allow the cheese to spoil. Yellow circles are turned over and rubbed once a week, and after reaching a certain density, it is checked and certified.

Most often Parmesan is used in dishes in the form of small cheese chips, thin almost transparent plates or hard crust, formed under the influence of high temperatures.In addition, cheese can be consumed fresh as part of a cheese platter with fruits, nuts or sweet desserts. Depending on what is required from the cheese, a replacement is selected.

• Taste. If you want to enjoy the sharp-salty taste of hard cheese, you can buy Lithuanian products called Dzhyugas or Rokiskis. These hard cheeses have a characteristic core, inherent in Parmesan, and a tart aftertaste. However, in contrast to the original Italian cheese, produced from fresh milk, pasteurized cow's milk is used to produce Dzhyugas and Rokiskis cheeses. Because of this feature, the taste of Lithuanian cheese is more tender and sweet.

• Cheese Crumb. For cooking hot pizza or pasta with cheese crust, replacing Parmesan is easiest. In addition to the aforementioned brittle Lithuanian cheeses, hard varieties of domestic cheese are excellent. For example, Russian cheese melts perfectly, forming a hard crust on the finished dish. Its taste, of course, is very different from Parmigiano Reggiano, but it is unobtrusive and blends well with both the taste of spaghetti, and rice or tomato paste. The advantage of Russian cheese is also its affordable price and availability in almost any store in all regions of the country. And also firm Dutch or Swiss cheeses perfectly will be suitable for roasting.

• Records. For cold dishes, which require thin Parmesan plates (various salads and snacks) according to the recipe, other spicy cheeses called Gruyere or Grana Padano are perfect. Such products are quite expensive, but in their structure they are closest to the real Parmesan. They are quite solid, if they are cut on a special grater, very fragile, almost transparent ribbons will be obtained. They are often used in the classic recipe of the famous Caesar salad. The taste of the Swiss Gruyere is more earthy and spicy than that of Parmigiano Reggiano, and the Italian Grana Padano leaves a light nutty aftertaste.

In connection with the introduction of sanctions and the prohibition of the importation of Italian Parmesan into the country, domestic hard cheeses are increasingly appearing on the market, which have not only similar taste and texture, but are even called Parmesan. Many domestic cheese makers began to produce this savory cheese in their own factories, which will allow in the future to supply such an analogue of Italian cheese in many regions of the country. The average price for one kilogram of the treat will be from 350 to 850 r. depending on the period of aging and hardness of domestic Parmesan.

See how the cheese can replace Parmesan, see the video below.