What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but is
incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout. I
tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and these
don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments on
a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
this.

This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very hard
cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and dense....

--
W

On 12/24/2013 9:56 PM, W wrote:
> What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
> old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but is
> incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout. I
> tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
> large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and these
> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments on
> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
> this.
>
> This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very hard
> cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and dense....
>

You need a good grater. I'd use either the fine side of a box grater or
the grating disk in the food processor. The FP will churn out a lot in
minutes.

"W" wrote:
>
>What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
>old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but is
>incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout. I
>tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
>large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and these
>don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
>pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments on
>a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
>this.
>
>This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very hard
>cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and dense....

You can buy pricey motorized hard cheese graters for hundreds of
dollars but for home use at the price you can't beat this:
http://www.amazon.com/Microplane-400...+cheese+grater

On 12/24/2013 8:33 PM, Brooklyn1 wrote:
> "W" wrote:
>>
>> What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
>> old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but is
>> incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout. I
>> tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
>> large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and these
>> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
>> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments on
>> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
>> this.
>>
>> This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very hard
>> cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and dense....
>
> You can buy pricey motorized hard cheese graters for hundreds of
> dollars but for home use at the price you can't beat this:
> http://www.amazon.com/Microplane-400...+cheese+grater
>
>
I prefer:

http://www.amazon.com/Zyliss-11370-C...+cheese+grater

"W" > wrote in message
...
> What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
> old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but
> is
> incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout.
> I
> tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
> large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and
> these
> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments
> on
> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
> this.
>
> This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very
> hard
> cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and
> dense....
>


Use a microplane right over the pizza. Either a course or ribbon blade.

Robert

"W" > wrote in message
...
> What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
> old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but
> is
> incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout.
> I
> tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
> large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and
> these
> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments
> on
> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
> this.
>
> This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very
> hard
> cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and
> dense....

I used to have a cheese shaver. But now I just use my vegetable peeler. If
you want tiny bits, use short strokes.

"W" > wrote in message
...
> What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
> old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but
> is
> incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout.
> I
> tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
> large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and
> these
> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments
> on
> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
> this.
>
> This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very
> hard
> cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and
> dense....

I don't think any of the previous posts will serve you well at all. I am
imagining your cheese is rock hard. I have a 1 HP cheese grater that would
handle it, but it is much more of chore than normally hard cheese.

"Pico Rico" > wrote in message
...
>
> "W" > wrote in message
> ...
> > What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese,
like
> > old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but
> > is
> > incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout.
> > I
> > tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well
with
> > large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and
> > these
> > don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
> > pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments
> > on
> > a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
> > this.
> >
> > This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very
> > hard
> > cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and
> > dense....
>
> I don't think any of the previous posts will serve you well at all. I am
> imagining your cheese is rock hard. I have a 1 HP cheese grater that
would
> handle it, but it is much more of chore than normally hard cheese.

Yes, exactly, rock hard. I have a plastic hand turned rotary grader,
which are all over the place on Amazon. It works extremely well even on the
hard cheese, but it is SLOW. The Shred O Matic referenced earlier might do
a better job but looks like a similar concept. Rotary is the way to go for
a hard cheese, but I was just curious if there was a low cost automated
rotary grater out there.

--
W

On 12/25/13 2:43 AM, W wrote:

> Yes, exactly, rock hard.... Rotary is the way to go for
> a hard cheese, but I was just curious if there was a low cost automated
> rotary grater out there.

I don't know how low is "low cost" in your context, but I've used the
Kitchen Aid rotary shredder attachment successfully on rock-hard
overjarige Gouda. It's around $50 on Amazon.

-- Larry

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
news
> On Tue, 24 Dec 2013 23:43:38 -0800, W wrote:
>
>> "Pico Rico" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>> I don't think any of the previous posts will serve you well at all. I
>>> am
>>> imagining your cheese is rock hard. I have a 1 HP cheese grater that
>> would
>>> handle it, but it is much more of chore than normally hard cheese.
>>
>> Yes, exactly, rock hard. I have a plastic hand turned rotary grader,
>> which are all over the place on Amazon. It works extremely well even on
>> the
>> hard cheese, but it is SLOW. The Shred O Matic referenced earlier might
>> do
>> a better job but looks like a similar concept. Rotary is the way to go
>> for
>> a hard cheese, but I was just curious if there was a low cost automated
>> rotary grater out there.
>
> Then I think both of you have shitty graters. My grater will
> shred/grate the hardest of cheeses. Besides, how hard can a piece of
> cheese be that it sticks to the cutting blades of the food processor?

I have slicer/shredder drums that fit on my grinder machine. There is
nothing that I can't do with that.

--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

On 12/25/2013 9:23 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> Then I think both of you have shitty graters. My grater will
> shred/grate the hardest of cheeses.


Really?

Bragging about your cheese grater?

Seriously?

On Tuesday, December 24, 2013 11:49:05 PM UTC-6, Pico Rico wrote:
>
>
> I don't think any of the previous posts will serve you well at all. I am
> imagining your cheese is rock hard. I have a 1 HP cheese grater that would
> handle it, but it is much more of chore than normally hard cheese.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi.../Wood_rasp.jpg

--B

"W" > wrote in message
...
> What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
> old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but
> is
> incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout.
> I
> tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
> large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and
> these
> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments
> on
> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
> this.
>
> This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very
> hard
> cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and
> dense....

At Whole Foods we used a Cuisinart food processor for all of the hard
cheeses: Sbrinz, Mimolette, aged Gouda, old Parm and whatever.
You might check whether your cutting/chopping blade on your fp is
still sharp, they dull as do knives. You might sharpen it, get a new
one, and remember to chop large chunks of cheese into smaller
chunks that work. For smaller amounts of cheese I'd follow Sheldon's
advice on the microplane.

pavane

Maybe I've never dealt with cheese that dense, but I make do with either my veggie peeler or a small, flat grater. Even my zester works well, but for small quantities, granted.

I guess you want a lot of cheese on that pizza - I make do with mozzarella which I shave with one of those one-wire cheese slicers.

On 12/24/2013 8:56 PM, W wrote:
> What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
> old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but is
> incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout. I
> tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
> large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and these
> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments on
> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
> this.
>
> This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very hard
> cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and dense....
>
I use my y-shaped Swiss Star peeler to make Parmesan flakes. Works
perfectly.

--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.

---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com

On Tuesday, December 24, 2013 8:56:31 PM UTC-6, W wrote:
>
> I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and these
> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments on
> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal wit
> this.
>
> W
>
>
My KitchenAid food processor does a marvelous job of grating parmesan cheese but you have to cut it into cubes first. One inch cubes is about the right size and turn it on, no pulsing, and let it do it's thing. If will chop it finely if that's what you are looking for.

On Tuesday, December 24, 2013 8:56:31 PM UTC-6, W wrote:
>
> I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and these
> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments on
> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
> this.
>
> W
>
>
My KitchenAid food processor does a marvelous job of grinding parmesan cheese. You do have to cut it into cubes first and 1 inch size is about right. Put the cubes in the processor with the chopping blade attached, turn it on, no pulsing, and let it do it's thing. The cheese will be finely 'grated.'

> wrote in message
...
On Tuesday, December 24, 2013 8:56:31 PM UTC-6, W wrote:
>
> I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and these
> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments on
> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
> this.
>
> W
>
>
My KitchenAid food processor does a marvelous job of grinding parmesan
cheese. You do have to cut it into cubes first and 1 inch size is about
right. Put the cubes in the processor with the chopping blade attached,
turn it on, no pulsing, and let it do it's thing. The cheese will be finely
'grated.'

if you can cut it into cubes, it is not rock hard.

On 2013-12-25 1:47 PM, Pico Rico wrote:
My KitchenAid food processor does a marvelous job of grinding parmesan
> cheese. You do have to cut it into cubes first and 1 inch size is about
> right. Put the cubes in the processor with the chopping blade attached,
> turn it on, no pulsing, and let it do it's thing. The cheese will be finely
> 'grated.'
>
My Braun FP has grater attachment. Just stick the cheese down the chute
and press it down with the pusher.

On Wednesday, December 25, 2013 1:32:55 PM UTC-6, Dave Smith wrote:

>
>
> My Braun FP has grater attachment. Just stick the cheese down the chute
> and press it down with the pusher.
>
>
Mine too, but I thought he wanted it finely grated.

"itsjoannotjoann" wrote:
>Dave Smith wrote:
>
>> My Braun FP has grater attachment. Just stick the cheese down the chute
>> and press it down with the pusher.
>>
>Mine too, but I thought he wanted it finely grated.

How fine is "finely"? Anyway if the grated parm is going to top pizza
it doesn't need to be very fine and it'll still melt in a hot oven. A
microplane is the best way to go as it makes no sense to grate more
than is needed for each pizza... once cheese is grated it deteriorates
quickly, if you're going to hold it for a few days you may as well buy
that dust in the green can... a microplane will produce more than
enough grated cheese directly on a pizza in under a minute and
effortlessly. And a microplane can multi-task, when it's not grating
cheese it can remove those nasty foot calluses. hehe

On Wednesday, December 25, 2013 12:47:48 PM UTC-6, Pico Rico wrote:
>
>
> if you can cut it into cubes, it is not rock hard.
>
>
The O.P. didn't say it was 'rock hard' he just said hard. And if his was that hard I'm sure he could still break it up into small chunks and let the f.p. do the rest.

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 24 Dec 2013 18:56:31 -0800, W wrote:
>
>> What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
>> old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but
>> is
>> incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout.
>> I
>> tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well
>> with
>> large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and
>> these
>> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
>> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments
>> on
>> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
>> this.
>>
>> This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very
>> hard
>> cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and
>> dense....
>
> Maybe you just need a better hand grater/shredder. I use a fine
> paddle type shredder and I can easily whip out a cup of parmesan or
> romano in about 1.5 minutes (or less).

I have those too. Got a cheap set at Costco that work better than the two
expensive ones I have. But those are old. Perhaps they worked better when
new.
> -sw

On 12/24/2013 8:14 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Tue, 24 Dec 2013 18:56:31 -0800, W wrote:
>
>> What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
>> old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but is
>> incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout. I
>> tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
>> large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and these
>> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
>> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments on
>> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
>> this.
>>
>> This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very hard
>> cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and dense....
>
> Maybe you just need a better hand grater/shredder. I use a fine
> paddle type shredder and I can easily whip out a cup of parmesan or
> romano in about 1.5 minutes (or less).
>
> -sw
>

And I mean you're being timed so that is crucial, eh?

On 12/24/2013 10:14 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Tue, 24 Dec 2013 18:56:31 -0800, W wrote:
>
>> What's the best way to flake off small pieces of a very hard cheese, like
>> old parmesan? I have a great hand grinder for this that works well but is
>> incredibly time consuming. For a large pizza it is a 15 minute workout. I
>> tried to grind these in a nut processor and it just doesn't work well with
>> large hard chunks. I tried the bottom blade in a food processor, and these
>> don't work much better. Big chunks stick to the blade and never get
>> pulverized. I'm thinking that maybe one of the special top attachments on
>> a food processor would work, but would like to hear how others deal with
>> this.
>>
>> This isn't a question about soft cheeses. I'm only dealing with very hard
>> cheeses in some cases aged more than three years. Think hard and dense....
>
> Maybe you just need a better hand grater/shredder. I use a fine
> paddle type shredder and I can easily whip out a cup of parmesan or
> romano in about 1.5 minutes (or less).
>
> -sw
>
Right, with a microplane, the harder the cheese, the easier it is to
grate it.


--
CAPSLOCK–Preventing Login Since 1980.

> Right, with a microplane, the harder the cheese, the easier it is to
> grate it.

Ummm, in my experience, this is not true. I have pretty much every
microplane device known to man, from the original foot-long rasp to the
microplane box grater.

When a cheese gets truly hard, such as an overjarige Gouda after a year
in your refrigerator cheese bin, the microplane blades are too flexible
to penetrate. All that they will produce is a little bit of fine powder.
At this stage, an old-fashioned single-blade cheese plane will not slice
through the cheese either. Nor will a wire slicer.

When a cheese gets that hard, no tool short of a band saw will slice it
-- they will all break it up, at best. Even when chewed, it feels
crystallized in your mouth.

-- Larry

On Thu, 26 Dec 2013 09:11:56 -0500, pltrgyst > wrote:

> > Right, with a microplane, the harder the cheese, the easier it is to
> > grate it.
>
> Ummm, in my experience, this is not true. I have pretty much every
> microplane device known to man, from the original foot-long rasp to the
> microplane box grater.
>
> When a cheese gets truly hard, such as an overjarige Gouda after a year
> in your refrigerator cheese bin, the microplane blades are too flexible
> to penetrate. All that they will produce is a little bit of fine powder.
> At this stage, an old-fashioned single-blade cheese plane will not slice
> through the cheese either. Nor will a wire slicer.
>
> When a cheese gets that hard, no tool short of a band saw will slice it
> -- they will all break it up, at best. Even when chewed, it feels
> crystallized in your mouth.
>

What you describe is beyond hard cheese, it's petrified.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Thu, 26 Dec 2013 09:11:56 -0500, pltrgyst > wrote:

>> Right, with a microplane, the harder the cheese, the easier it is to
>> grate it.
>
>Ummm, in my experience, this is not true. I have pretty much every
>microplane device known to man, from the original foot-long rasp to the
>microplane box grater.
>
>When a cheese gets truly hard, such as an overjarige Gouda after a year
>in your refrigerator cheese bin, the microplane blades are too flexible
>to penetrate. All that they will produce is a little bit of fine powder.
>At this stage, an old-fashioned single-blade cheese plane will not slice
>through the cheese either. Nor will a wire slicer.
>
>When a cheese gets that hard, no tool short of a band saw will slice it
>-- they will all break it up, at best. Even when chewed, it feels
>crystallized in your mouth.
>
>-- Larry

Lawrrry is a wuss doncha know... I have Microplanes that will shave
rock maple like it's butter. And Microplanes are the best tool for
foot ca
http://us.microplane.com/outlet-microplanefootcare.aspx

I bought this like 15 years ago, works fantastically well on hard
cheese and foot calluses:
http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/p...33,44734,32458
I don't care for Microplaned garlic, it's too juicy.

On 12/26/2013 10:37 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> No cheese in GOOD condition is that hard.
>
> -sw

Buy a sawzall, dwarf.

On 12/25/2013 9:28 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> A
> microplane would take much longer to grate the same amount of cheese
> by weight.

-yawn-

On Wed, 25 Dec 2013 22:28:54 -0600, Sqwertz >
wrote:

>On Wed, 25 Dec 2013 22:55:04 -0500, Cheryl wrote:
>
>> On 12/24/2013 10:14 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>
>>> Maybe you just need a better hand grater/shredder. I use a fine
>>> paddle type shredder and I can easily whip out a cup of parmesan or
>>> romano in about 1.5 minutes (or less).
>>>
>> Right, with a microplane, the harder the cheese, the easier it is to
>> grate it.
>
>I wasn't referring to a microplane, just a regular fine shredder. A
>microplane would take much longer to grate the same amount of cheese
>by weight.

Not true... old fashioned paddle graters work okay (I have several)
but they don't even come close to a Microplane version. Microplane
makes planes with several different cuts from very fine to medium to
coarse to very coarse to actual flakes/ribbons... and they make a
grater attachment that makes the job easier and faster... they even
make a very affordable (BOGO) rotory Mcroplane
http://us.microplane.com/microplanekitchentools.aspx
http://us.microplane.com/microplanet...ardcheese.aspx
http://us.microplane.com/38057graterattachment.aspx
http://us.microplane.com/microplanes...tinuedpkg.aspx

On 2013-12-26 04:28:54 +0000, Sqwertz said:

> On Wed, 25 Dec 2013 22:55:04 -0500, Cheryl wrote:
>
>> On 12/24/2013 10:14 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>
>>> Maybe you just need a better hand grater/shredder. I use a fine
>>> paddle type shredder and I can easily whip out a cup of parmesan or
>>> romano in about 1.5 minutes (or less).
>>>
>> Right, with a microplane, the harder the cheese, the easier it is to
>> grate it.
>
> I wasn't referring to a microplane, just a regular fine shredder. A
> microplane would take much longer to grate the same amount of cheese
> by weight.

If it was 15 minutes before a micro-plane ought to at least double the labor.