when i tell people i buy parmigiano-reggiano, the real deal, at whole foods for around $25 a pound, a lot of them look at me like i’ve lost my mind.
the thing, though, is that you can’t put a price on quality. and real parmigiano-reggiano has a buttery, nutty, meaty taste that cannot be emulated by any other “parmesan” out there—they are not aged as long, are softer, and contain less salt and glutamate, all of the finer things that contribute to the cheese’s naturally complex flavor.
you might find ones that are close. trader joe’s has a a pre-grated parmesan cheese they sell that is imported from (i think?) argentina. at first taste, it has all the flavor features of parmigiano-reggiano, and it adds a pretty good finishing touch to pastas. the other night, however, i tried making my near-foolproof recipe for fettuccine alfredo (recipe to follow) with it, and the dish fell flat. the cream sauce had an uncharacteristically thick, clumpy texture, and the clove of smashed garlic i normally add easily overwhelmed the parmesan. and when i reheated the fettuccine the next night—fettuccine alfredo never reheats well anyway, and i don’t make a common practice of it—the dish had lost any semblance of parmigiano-esque flavor. needless to say, i am never skimping on my parmigiano-reggiano again.
any aspiring cook, even a total noob, can yield immediate results as long as they use the right ingredients at the highest quality. now, i’m not saying you should be dropping tons of cash on ingredients all the time. but for those who scoff at shopping for groceries at whole foods or other organic markets, try it just once. i swear, whatever it is, will be the tastiest thing you’ve made yet.
