How to Make Parmesan Cheese

Homemade Parmesan cheese is fresh and delicious--well worth the wait.

Parmesan cheese is one of the easiest cheeses to make, however, keep in mind that it takes at least five months for the cheese to take form. If you are willing to wait, assemble the ingredients and get to work.

Things You'll Need

• 1 gallon of fresh skim milk
• 1/4 tablet of rennet
• 3 oz. of thermophilic starter culture
• Brine solution (salt & water)
• Refrigerator
• Bowl
• Cheese grater
• Whisk
• Cheesecloth lined colander
• Cheesecloth lined mold

Instructions

1. Warm the milk to about 100 degrees and add the thermophilic starter culture. Allow it to ripen for about an hour.

2. Dissolve the tab in 4 tbsp. of cold water and pour it into the milk. Stir for about five minutes with a wire whisk.

3. Set the milk solution for about 90 minutes and a curd should form in this time. Cut this curd into 1/4 cubes and have them sit for about 10 minutes.

4. Raise the milk's temperature to 124 degrees. Keep stirring the curds to prevent them from sticking together. Maintain the curds at this temperature until they are small and firm (this will take about 30 minutes at the most).

5. Drain the whey with a cheesecloth lined colander and place the curds into a cheesecloth lined mold. Press the cheese at 10 lbs. for 1/2 hour. Remove and flip the cheese. Press it at 25 lbs. for a 1/2 hour. Flip the cheese again and press it for 12 hours.

6. Remove the cheese from the press and float in a cold brine solution (1 1/2 cups of salt into 1 qt. of water) for 30 hours. Remove the cheese and pat dry.

7. Put the cheese in your refrigerator for at least five months. Flip the cheese every other day for the first few weeks and then once weekly. After two days, place an overturned bowl on the cheese. Check the cheese for mold. If mold does develop, simply remove the area of mold.

8. Grate your cheese when you are ready to use it. You can use it any time after five months, but the longer it is kept, the stronger the flavor will be.)

Tips & Warnings

• Grate only the amount of cheese that you will need. This will keep the block of cheese fresher for a longer period of time.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Read this Article in Portuguese
• GourmetSleuth.com