300739 Tue Aug 23 10:38:07 -0700 2005 12 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1673179 Curious about some of "new" Parmigiano Reggiano terms I've recently come accross ----- specifically "Vacche Rosse" (Red Cow) and "Mountain Quality". True differences or more marketing and B.S.? Tue Aug 23 10:38:07 -0700 2005 0 FrankT 1 1673186 Taste them along with the parmigiano you use right now. That is the only way for you to find out if it is "more marketing and B.S" or an actual difference in flavor. I don't know about Mountain Quality but the Red Cow is a specific parmigiano, not a term. Tue Aug 23 12:01:04 -0700 2005 1673179 0 wally 2 1673215 I've had DOP parm regg produced on special mountainsides in Italy, and yes, it's all that. I go to grate it and end up eating chunks of it too. Tue Aug 23 15:19:50 -0700 2005 1673186 0 coll 3 1673221 In Italy they primarily eat the P.G.in chunks, at times drizzled with balsamic vinegar, rather than grating it. I believe they primarily use Pecorino Romano for grating over pasta. Tue Aug 23 15:58:17 -0700 2005 1673215 0 FrankT 4 1673223 I believe it! Tue Aug 23 16:01:20 -0700 2005 1673221 0 coll 4 1673227 Generally true about grating in Italian homes, where a more gently priced Grana Padano is often preferred to Parmigiano Reggiano. Center-south, pecorino is common, though not always at the salt/intensity level of commercial versions available here--if you can find a chunk cut from relatively fresh wheel of Fulvi brand pecorino romano you'll be surprised how fragrant it can be. Aged provolone and caciocavallo are also used. BTW, some markets offer a "Stravecchio" or extra-aged Parmigiano. Any comments? Tue Aug 23 16:34:12 -0700 2005 1673221 0 bob oppedisano 5 1673238 I attended a cook-out on Sunday in Albany (CA, not NY) and was served shards of a Stravecchio and another PR. One came from Costco and the other from TJ's, and I wasn't told which was which until after I tasted them. The Stravecchio was drier, deeper-flavored and had a more crystalline structure with little salty bits. Had a lot of wine in me by that point and don't remember much more. (g) Oh, also a fresh pecorino. Tue Aug 23 18:09:48 -0700 2005 1673227 0 Melanie Wong 5 1673250 I'm a fan of all these hard cheeses, and believe that there are great differences in quality, although not sure how important the nomenclature is. A few times I ordered pecorino through FreshDirect, and received some very un-salty, moist and fragrant cheese that was actually quite reminiscent of Parmigiano and not at all of the salty, dried-out, pungent, white crumbly stuff that pecorino can turn into when stored for too long. Even this kind is OK grated over pasta, but the "fresh" pecorino was a really pleasant surprise for me. Cheap, too. Tue Aug 23 23:28:58 -0700 2005 1673227 0 Sir Gawain 6 1673259 from what i understand, there are different types of pecorino. pecorino romano is the saltier, drier, zestier cheese that we always grate on pasta. but the other day i had a really nice aged pecorino that was much milder. Wed Aug 24 05:45:38 -0700 2005 1673250 0 hobokeg 7 1673263 I have in my fridge right now a "Grand Cru" pecorino, it's so soft and crumbly you would never think it was what we know as "grating cheese". It's almost a waste to grate it. Wed Aug 24 06:32:18 -0700 2005 1673259 0 coll 5 1673273 The smell of pecorino always takes me back thirty years to my first visit to Italy, down in Apulia - every grocery store we went into (and I was addicted to visiting grocery stores even then!) smelled exactly like that. Heavenly. Wed Aug 24 12:28:14 -0700 2005 1673227 0 Will Owen 1 1673188 Jeffrey Steingarten in "It Must Have Been Something I Ate" covers this. I read it fairly recently, so will attempt to summarize: The cows are a specific breed (an old one that used to be standard for that cheese), cows kept in the mountains eat differently, and both are in the minority in modern Parmesan production. Red cows' milk has different proportion of (I think) casein, and makes better cheese. Red cows are making a comeback (think "heirloom breeds"). So I doubt it's all BS, but yeah, taste it and report. Tue Aug 23 12:14:40 -0700 2005 1673179 0 Aromatherapy 1 1673194 Some info on the Vacche Rosse at the link below (scroll down halfway). sounds like true differents, with a taste more like the original Parmigiano Reggiano, with a creamier texture, even though it's aged longer. Link: http://www.igourmet.com/shoppe/search.asp?qry=Parmigiano%20Reggiano&country=&ScrollAction=2 Tue Aug 23 12:54:59 -0700 2005 1673179 0 Linda W.