Double Parmesan: A Story of True Love and a Crisis Averted
About that 16-gallon cheese I mentioned in last week’s newsletter? The one I said wasn’t going very well? Well, it was a Parmesan, or two Parmesans rather: one made in the morning and one made in the afternoon. Since my Parms always end up on the thin side, I thought I could press one, then press the other, and then, once they were nice and squished, I could combine them in the same mold and press them together overnight.
Wouldn’t you know, what with the spring grass and the higher fat milk, those Parms were way bigger than normal. So big, in fact, that there was no way I could combine them in the same mold.
I tried, though!
And then I panicked. There may have been some yelling. Some almost-crying.
But then my husband jumped into the fray.
He drilled some holes in a two-gallon milk bucket and, voilà, a new mold was born.
Sometimes it pays to panic (wink).
The bucket mold isn’t actually ideal since the sides slope a bit too much and I didn’t have a follower that fit snug, but it got the job done. (Any of you have a good recommendation for a mold that fits 12-20 gallons of milk?)
I trimmed off the puffy edge and ate it.
I brined this monster — it weighs over 14 pounds — for two-plus days, and now I’m aging it in a big lidded tub at 55°F/13°C. Every couple days I wash it down with a light salt brine.
Say cheese!
I showed my coworkers a photo of the cheese and their first response (after making bug eyes) was, “You should cut off the top and toss hot pasta in it!” And I was like, OH MY WORD YES. So maybe, just maybe, we might end up throwing one heck of a pasta party. Check back in 12 months!
