How To Make Parmesan Cheese Recipe At Home | Curd Nerd (2024)

Today, I’ll be showing you how to make Parmesan cheese at home using our simple yet tried and tested recipe.

That’s not all,

To fully appreciate Parmesan cheese, you need to know its history, my favorite baked chicken Parmesan recipe and of course some nutritional facts. That and much more, let’s get to it!

How To Make Parmesan Cheese Recipe At Home | Curd Nerd (1)

Parmesan Cheese Recipe

To learn how to make Parmesan Cheese at home, you will need the following ingredients;

  • Ten litres of skimmed cow’s milk.
  • Lipase (as per the manufacturer’s instructions).
  • A quarter teaspoon of thermophilic starter culture.
  • 5mls of rennet diluted in a quarter cup of water.

How To Make Parmesan Cheese At Home

  1. Warm the milk up to 33°C
  2. Add in the lipase and starter cultures then stir thoroughly.
  3. Cover the milk and leave it to ripen for about 15 minutes.
  4. Add in the diluted rennet and then stir thoroughly.
  5. Leave it to set for about 45 minutes while ensuring that the temperature holds at 33°
  6. Keep checking for a clean break.
  7. Afterwards, carefully cut the curd into equal 1 centimetre cubes then leave them for 10 minutes.
  8. Heat the curds to raise the temperature to 46°C over 45 minutes.
  9. Stir regularly, reducing the curds to the size of grains of rice (I stir with a whisk to achieve this)
  10. Line your cheese mold with cheesecloth and gently ladle your curds into the mold.
  11. Press at 5kgs for 30 minutes.
  12. Remove from mold, redress and press at 10kg for 2 hours
  13. Remove from mold, redress and press at 20kg for 12 hours
  14. Again, remove from mold, redress and press at 10kg for 12 hours
  15. Remove from the cheese from the mold and the cheesecloth.
  16. Soak it in saturated brine for 24 hours.
  17. Pat dry and age at 85% humidity at 14 degrees Celsius
  18. Turn it daily for the first 2 weeks.
  19. After 2 months have elapsed, rub the cheese with olive oil to prevent the rind from drying out.

Aging Your Parmesan

You should age it for at least 10 months. Cheese connoisseurs, however, recommend preferably aging it for 12 months before enjoying it.

How To Make Parmesan Cheese Recipe At Home | Curd Nerd (2)

Benoît Prieur – CC-BY-SA

How To Store Parmesan Cheese

If you want to keep it fresh, proper storage is absolutely necessary. It should be wrapped in plastic wrapping and put in the refrigerator. Parmesan that has prolonged exposure to air starts to turn white and the rind starts to thicken.

What Is Parmesan Cheese?

Also referred to as Parmigiano Reggiano, is perhaps the most revered of Italian cheeses.

Parmesan is a hard, granular cheese that has been produced in and around the province of Parma in Italy for at least the past eight centuries.

Naming cheeses after their place of origin is a concept that dates back to the Roman Empire. It is made using unpasteurized cow’s milk. The cows are allowed to graze on fresh grass and hay.

The earliest mention dates back to 1254 when an Italian Noble lady from Genoa traded her house for a guaranteed annual supply of 53 pounds of cheese.

The French and Italian Nobles had close ties and soon enough Parmesan found its way to France. By the close of the 14th century, it had travelled from the Parma-Reggio region over the Apennine mountains to Tuscany.

From there, ships leaving from Livorno and Pisa carried the precious cargo to many other Mediterranean ports.

How To Make Parmesan Cheese Recipe At Home | Curd Nerd (3)

Photo Nerodiseppia

Parmigiano Reggiano PDO Certification

Parmigiano Reggiano is legally the only hard cheese that can be called Parmesan. European courts acknowledged the historical fact that the cheese has its origins in the Parma-Reggio region of Italy.

The European court’s ruling meant that it needs to conform to the Protected Designation of Origin standards for Parmigiano Reggiano.

Earlier on in 1954, the pioneering alliance of Italian cheese makers renamed their organization the Consorzio Del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Since then, the official name of the cheese stuck as Parmigiano Reggiano, which is indicated by pin dots imprinted on each wheel’s rind.

Members of the Consorzio Del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano follow strict production standards and work together to market Parmesan while protecting the name from would-be imitators.

How To Make Parmesan Cheese Recipe At Home | Curd Nerd (4)

Parmesan Cheese Taste

Genuine Parmesan can be described as having a hard, gritty texture. It has a nutty and fruity taste that can be used to identify imitations. Fake or inferior products marketed as Parmesan has a bitter taste.

Parmesan Substitute

Piave is as close to Parmesan as you can get. It is similar in texture and flavor.

Pecorino Romano is another suitable replacement that is perfect for grating well on pasta.

Grana Padano is the third best Parmesan alternative. It has a mild flavor and is less crumbly.

How To Use Parmesan Cheese

Parmesan can be used to make a wide variety of tasty gourmet meals. You can shred (grate) it, this being the most popular method, shave it, cut or slice it and even use it as a powder. My all time favourite recipe is below.

Baked Chicken Parmesan Recipe

A simple yet surprisingly tasty recipe you can put together in under an hour. This recipe is similar to what you’d find in a restaurant with the only exception being there’s less sauce and tons of flavor.

How To Make Parmesan Cheese Recipe At Home | Curd Nerd (5)

How To Make Chicken Parmesan

With some boneless chicken breasts, some breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese and some herbs you can create a taste experience unlike anything else you’ve tried in the past.

I like to fry my chicken breasts till they’re crispy and golden brown before throwing on the herbs and cheese then baking it for 20 minutes at 450F. One word, perfection.

Wine Pairings

Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot are some of the wines you should pair this exceptional Italian delight with.

How To Make Parmesan Cheese Recipe At Home | Curd Nerd (6)

Parmesan Nutrition

A 100 gram slice contains 431 calories of which Proteins form 27%, Carbohydrates 13%, and Fats 60%.

Also containing Calcium, Iron, Vitamins D, B-6, B-12, and Magnesium.

Can I eat Parmesan cheese when pregnant?

As far as pregnancy and safety go, it is safe for consumption by expectant women. But always check with your health care professional.

Being a hard cheese, it contains way less moisture hence is unlikely to support any bacterial growth.

I hope you enjoyed learning how to make Parmesan cheese at home. Please share your stories and pictures with us.

Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions with how to make Parmesan cheese? Join the discussion over at the Curd Nerd Forum. We love to hear from you!

Curd Nerd Forum

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How To Make Parmesan Cheese Recipe At Home | Curd Nerd (2024)

FAQs

What is the process of making Parmesan cheese? ›

It's made using a centuries-old process with just three simple, natural ingredients: milk, salt, and rennet. The milk is heated and the starter and rennet are added to allow the milk to slowly and naturally coagulate and form curds. These curds are broken into tiny granules, then cooked so they become one single mass.

How do you age Parmesan cheese at home? ›

Parmesan Aging technique
  1. Age 4 weeks with a typical brushed rind.
  2. Wash and dry.
  3. Oil with olive oil (normal, not extra virgin)
  4. Reapply oil every week or two as it absorbs into the cheese and then as needed. You only use a tiny bit of oil. ...
  5. Wipe off mold on the rind as you go.
Apr 20, 2023

What are the rules for Parmesan cheese? ›

In particular, Parmesan must be made of cow's milk, cured for 10 months or more, contain no more than 32% water, and have no less than 32% milkfat in its solids.

What makes Parmesan cheese so good? ›

It is one of the very highest naturally produced foods of any kind in Glutamate content, which is why it has a very strong umami characteristic or savory taste. This explains why even though it is delicious on its own, it also elevates almost any dish to which it is added, cooked or uncooked.

What are the ingredients in Parmesan cheese? ›

PARMESAN CHEESE (PASTEURIZED PART-SKIM MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), CELLULOSE POWDER, POTASSIUM SORBATE TO PROTECT FLAVOR.

What are the three ingredients in Parmesan cheese? ›

True Parmigiano-Reggiano is a storied cheese with a tightly controlled process and simple recipe. It has only three ingredients: fresh milk from the Parma/Reggio region of Italy, salt, and rennet. Many kinds of cheese labeled Parmesan are created with more or different ingredients.

Does it take 2 years to make Parmesan cheese? ›

After brining, the wheels sit in a maturing room to age for 1-3 years for Parmigiano-Reggiano and a minimum of 10 months for parmesan. Once fully aged, the cheese will be prepared for selling. If it is Parmigiano-Reggiano, the wheel will be marked with the cheese's signature branding.

Which cheese is easiest to make? ›

Make chèvre. It is the world's easiest cheese. Or, if you do not have access to goat's milk, make fromage blanc. The process is just the same, and the results are just as impressive.

How do you make rennet? ›

Here is the procedure to follow in order to obtain excellent rennet paste at home:
  1. Recover a nursing lamb/kid abomasum.
  2. Remove the fatty parts at the ends of it.
  3. Salt the abomasum with coarse salt while still fresh.
  4. Dry the abomasum in a dry place for a month.
  5. Open it and extract the contents (grass, fur, soil, etc.)

What not to put with Parmesan? ›

You see, in Italy, Parmesan cheese is reserved for pasta dishes with tomato-based sauces, cream sauces, and meat-based dishes. Adding Parmesan cheese to a seafood-based dish, like spaghetti with clams, is a big no-no. It's like adding ketchup to a steak or pineapple on a pizza – it just doesn't belong!

Can you make Parmesan without rennet? ›

The good news is yes. Because although the enzyme that comprises rennet is always animal-based, there are now vegetable-based enzymes—obtained by soaking plants like artichokes or thistles—and microbial-based substitutes, which are made from mold enzymes extracted in a lab.

Can Parmesan cheese go bad? ›

A whole, unopened block of Parmesan cheese can last seven to nine months in the refrigerator, and a whole opened block of Parmesan cheese will last one to two months. A container of grated Parmesan cheese will last about one week in the refrigerator. When Parmesan turns yellow or begins to get moldy, it has spoiled.

What is the king of all cheese? ›

Known as the “King of Cheeses”, Parmesan, or Parmigiano Reggiano was first produced by Benedictine and Cistercian monks a thousand years ago. Over the centuries, it has acquired global prominence and is now a hugely popular choice for food-lovers the world over.

What cheese is stronger than Parmesan? ›

Like Parmigiano, Romano is a hard cheese. But Pecorino Romano is white in color and has a slightly saltier and much stronger, more piquant flavor.

What is a better cheese than Parmesan? ›

Pecorino Romano is a sheep's milk cheese that comes from the Lazio region of Italy (home of Rome). It's hard—though less so than Parmesan—salty, sharp, and used almost exclusively for grating. Its unctuous, tangy, umami-rich qualities immediately add zip and bite to any dish.

What is rennet made of? ›

Rennet is made of enzymes that are found in the lining of un-weened mammal stomachs, usually from a cow (calf), sheep (lamb) or goat (kid). Young mammals' main source of food is milk.

What is animal rennet made of? ›

Animal rennet is a complex collection of enzymes that's taken from the stomachs of young ruminant animals – calves, lambs, and kids (young goats).

What is the process of cheese making? ›

Fundamentals of cheese making

The fermentation of milk into finished cheese requires several essential steps: preparing and inoculating the milk with lactic-acid-producing bacteria, curdling the milk, cutting the curd, shrinking the curd (by cooking), draining or dipping the whey, salting, pressing, and ripening.

Is Parmesan cheese natural or processed? ›

Popular types of natural cheeses include unripened (e. g., cottage cheese, cream cheese), soft (e. g., Brie, Camembert), semi-hard (e. g., Brick, Muenster, Roquefort, Stilton), hard (e. g., Colby, Cheddar), blue veined (e. g., Blue, Gorgonzola), cooked hard cheeses (e. g., Swiss, Parmesan), and pasta filata (stretched ...

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