Parmesan Cheese 101

The best way to choose, store, and grate Parmesan cheese.

BUYING
Nothing beats the spicy, nutty flavor of authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano. Always buy a wedge with a piece of the rind attached; this way, you can see the signature imprint stamped on the rind and know that you are getting what you're paying for.
Some American-made Parmesan cheeses costs about half as much as Parmigiano-Reggiano, and in test kitchen taste tests, are acceptable substitutes for the real deal. We don't recommend using the boxed powdered stuff under any circumstances; it is made from inferior cheese and usually contains additives.

STORING
Keep your Parmesan tightly wrapped in butcher's paper, waxed paper, or plastic wrap and store it in a drawer in the refrigerator. If eating as a table cheese, allow Parmesan to come to room temperature before serving. If you want grated Parmesan, buy a whole piece, grate it yourself, and store it in the freezer or refrigerator, in an airtight container, for about 3 weeks; our taste tests concluded that for cooking applications, there is little difference between freshly grated and pregrated Parmesan that has been handled well (after 3 weeks, the pregrated cheese begins to suffer in flavor and texture). And don't throw away the rinds-they add body and flavor to soups and stews.

GRATING
A simple vegetable peeler is good for shaving curls of Parmesan into salads and vegetables and even on steaks. For fine grating-which most recipes call for-the small holes of a box grater work well enough, but the test kitchen prefers a rasp-style grater, which produces light, feathery strands of cheese with very little work. Our favorite is the Microplane grater.