On Apr 23, 1:03*am, Cheryl > wrote:
> How different is this cheese from Parmigiano Reggiano?
> excuse spelling please, it is all a cut and paste to ask this question.
> * I've been googling to answer my question.
>
> 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?

Use what you have. Even if you managed to get the hard Parmesan
grated, it doesn't have enough moisture to melt in well. If a recipe
calls for fontina and all you have is Gouda, that's no tragedy either.
Enjoy!

They have similar textures, but they are different cheeses. Peccorino
romano is a sheep cheese and therefor tangier than Parmigan, which is
made from cow milk. (The best is made from buffalo milk, but I haven't
seen that since I moved away from Avenue U in Brooklyn over 50 years
ago.) I use both. Romano for spaghetti and tomato sauce, and Parmisan
(or grana padano) for linguini alfredo. Either on tossed salad.

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.