On 4/23/2011 6:28 PM, Victor Sack wrote:
> > wrote:
>
>> I'm making Potatoes au Gratin and wanted Parmigiano Reggiano but my
>> block is so hard that I didn't want to spend time grating it so picked
>> up an already grated container from the deli but it wasn't Parmigiano
>> Reggiano when I got home, it was Pecorino Romano. How different is this?
>
> I do not quite understand... the harder the cheese, the easier it is to
> grate, usually... How do you grate it? Perhaps getting a different
> grater would make a difference?
>
> Pecorino Romano is a particular kind of hard sheep's milk cheese
> ("pecorino" means sheep's cheese), typically matured for 8 months;
> Parmigiano Reggiano is hard cow's milk cheese, matured for years.
> Further differences between them can be numerous (and potentially
> important), depending on their handling and their age. In their
> more-or-less "generic" young state, as offered in my local supermarkets
> (and perhaps yours), for example, I'd say that the taste of pecorino
> romano is different in more ways than one, but particularly more
> assertive and saltier than that of Parmigiano. Commercial grated
> versions of either cheese tend to be inferior.
>
> Depending on how you make your potato gratin, the difference can be
> noticeable or not. It really is a matter of a particular recipe,
> particular ingredients and personal preferences.
>

Thanks for the info. I think I have an idea of how I'm going to do this
after tasting the pecorino romano. I'll just use a little bit of that,
the parm that I just grated (http://oi53.tinypic.com/303d452.jpg - I
think I have enough, but it was a little hard to grate as I've said) and
the gruyere.