Tell me more ×
Seasoned Advice is a question and answer site for professional and amateur chefs. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

The parmesan cheese in pasta recipe is quite expensive.....do we have cheaper alternative??

Are there are cheddar cheese which can replace parmesan cheese?

share|improve this question
1  
and I heard that parmesan cannot compare with the real Italian one – Theta30 Sep 3 '11 at 5:12
1  
Where can I bulk-buy cheap parmesan? covers the same territory as this question. My answer there should suit your needs: use grana padano, or romano or reggianito. There is ABSOLUTELY NO cheddar that will sub for parmagiano reggiano. – BobMcGee Sep 3 '11 at 5:36
I found a cheaper local store which offer "parmesan" cheese with much lower price. It is not Parmigiano Reggiano, but is acceptable because it has brand. In supermarket, it sells for 59.9 HKD for 250g. In this shop, it only require 47HKD for 250g. And it also offers 1kg package which priced at 135HKD. – lamwaiman1988 Sep 10 '11 at 16:13

3 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Grana padano and pecorino romano are two other very savory, hard grating cheeses that work well on pasta. They taste a bit different than Parmigiano-Reggiano, but are quite good in their own right and often less expensive. You can also look at parmesan type cheeses that are not actually Parmigiano-Reggiano. For example, Whole Foods often has one from Argentina that offers a reasonable price/performance tradeoff. All of that said, in many people's opinion, nothing is really quite as delicious as true Parmigiano-Reggiano.

share|improve this answer
1  
Parmesan is by definition not Parmigiano Reggiano... – nico Sep 3 '11 at 20:23
@nico What is the difference with Parmesan Cheese and what you called Parmigiano Reggiano? I've only seen Cheese named Parmesan in my local supermarket. It's the first time I've heard Parmigiano Reggiano. – lamwaiman1988 Sep 5 '11 at 4:07
1  
@gunbuster: Parmigiano Reggiano is a protected designation of origin. That means that only cheese produced in very specific parts of Italy (specifically a handful of cities in Northern Italy: Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Mantova) can be called "Parmigiano Reggiano". To have the mark it has to be produced following certain specific methods defined by law. Anything produced outside of these cities cannot (by law) be called Parmigiano Reggiano, so it is often called Parmesan. – nico Sep 5 '11 at 6:43
And, just to be clear, it is not just a matter of law, the taste (and, alas, the price) is actually different. – nico Sep 5 '11 at 6:45
up vote 2 down vote

Buy in bulk and save

"Expensive but going to be used in cooking anyway" cheeses such as Parmesan or blue varieties freeze extremely well

The do loose their presentation quality, but retain their taste, smell, and texture qualities

I have had good quality blue vein wheels in the freezer for over a year and they are still perfect (though not much left now :-[ )

Processes as required (crumb, grate, shave etc.), and then pack into air tight freezer bags, and boxed for protection

Also, restaurant food wholesalers sell bulk bags of pre-processed Parmesan which you can freeze as is. Typically 1Kg plastic zip-lock style bags. You can usually get a cash account with them for small purchases. They will often sell wheels in 1/4 or 1/2's too

share|improve this answer
I don't think I've ever seen reggiano available in bulk at a supermarket; where are you buying this? – Aaronut♦ Sep 3 '11 at 18:24
@Aaronut You should buy cheese direct from a local cheese maker (many have Internet ordering) if you can. Our local cheese maker (Puhoi, no Internet?) makes a excellent Parmesan wheel 3+Kg. The excellent 9Kg Kapiti Parmesan at NZ$220 represents a 25% saving over the low end supermarket rubbish, and this is REALLY good cheese! – TFD Sep 3 '11 at 21:27
up vote 2 down vote

Another option is to make your own Parmesan Cheese... not an immediate solution but it is interesting to do at least once. It isn't exactly difficult, but it does take a while to mature.

share|improve this answer
Very interesting - It's amazing what you can do at home that we've forgotten about in the past half century! – Brian Sep 3 '11 at 17:53
Parmigiano Reggiano is aged at least 12 months, although I don't think I've ever seen it aged less then 24. 36-40 months old Parmigiano is just sublime (but I wouldn't use it on pasta, would rather eat it by itself). – nico Sep 3 '11 at 20:29
I did say it would take "a while". The Parmesan is 'usable' at 6 months, but will continue to improve over time. – Cos Callis Sep 3 '11 at 20:42
You can buy cheese making kits that have everything you need to make your own Parmesan, the main ingredient "time" costs you nothing curdsandwhey.co.nz/product/… – TFD Sep 3 '11 at 21:15
I agree it is very interesting....but may not suitable to all people. – lamwaiman1988 Sep 5 '11 at 4:23

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.