[2 - 4] [Music] parmigiano-reggiano okay that is the
[4 - 6] parmigiano-reggiano okay that is the first and last time that I'm gonna use
[6 - 8] that proper name for it from here on out
[8 - 10] it's just gonna be parmesan because
[10 - 12] let's face it my pronunciation is
[13 - 15] terrible but you know what actually I'm in Boston
[15 - 16] but you know what actually I'm in Boston maybe I should just call it pom
[16 - 19] hey kid past the pom
[22 - 26] [Music] there are loads of deeply aged flavorful
[26 - 27] there are loads of deeply aged flavorful gradable cheeses out there but there's
[27 - 29] really good reason that parmesan is
[29 - 31] considered the king of them all the
[31 - 33] genuine article has been produced for
[33 - 34] over eight hundred years in one
[34 - 36] government designated area of northern
[36 - 38] Italy from partly skimmed cow's milk
[38 - 40] once the Kurds have been formed and
[40 - 42] pressed into shape the cheese is
[42 - 43] submerged in a saltwater brine for a few
[43 - 46] days before ageing by Italian law it
[46 - 48] must be aged for at least twelve months
[48 - 49] but that's just the beginning
[49 - 51] some are aged for as much as 24 48 and
[51 - 54] 72 months but that's just the middle
[54 - 56] some are aged for as long as 96 and even
[56 - 58] a hundred and twenty months by my
[58 - 62] calculations that's ten years I've never
[62 - 64] had parmesan that's been aged for ten
[64 - 65] years but here's one description I've
[65 - 67] read about it and I quote the longest
[67 - 69] aging period gives birth to a
[69 - 70] challenging cheese that must be
[70 - 72] understood and studied with humility
[72 - 75] giving time to the product and for the
[75 - 79] senses to adapt whoa like any quality
[79 - 81] handmade food product when it comes to
[81 - 83] making parmesan everything matters
[83 - 85] quality of the milk the type of rennet
[85 - 86] used the bacteria present in the
[86 - 88] environment and the skill and attention
[88 - 90] of the cheese maker but the factor that
[90 - 91] arguably has the biggest impact on
[91 - 93] flavor and texture is aging just like
[93 - 95] with people cheese aging involves lots
[95 - 98] of small slow changes that taken as a
[98 - 100] whole of a big impact one of those
[100 - 102] changes is moisture loss Parmesan loses
[102 - 105] water as it ages which increases the
[105 - 106] concentration of everything else in the
[106 - 108] mix that's fat protein flavor compounds
[108 - 111] salt you name it other changes happen
[111 - 112] thanks to the busy work of enzymes
[112 - 114] enzymes break down proteins into
[114 - 117] peptides and amino acids creating savory
[117 - 119] intense flavor that's called proteolysis
[119 - 122] they also break down fat into free fatty
[122 - 123] acids which going to contribute sharp
[123 - 125] acidic and fruity flavors
[125 - 127] these flavor changes are accompanied by
[127 - 129] changes in texture as well the protein
[129 - 131] network that forms during the process of
[131 - 132] making the curds it starts out really
[132 - 134] flexible and it remains that way in
[134 - 135] young cheese's that's why something like
[135 - 137] a really young cheddar melts beautifully
[137 - 139] but that protein Network tightens and
[139 - 141] gets more interconnected as cheese ages
[141 - 143] turning once melty young cheddar into
[144 - 146] aged that just kind of melts into fat clumps
[146 - 148] that just kind of melts into fat clumps of protein okay so now that we
[148 - 149] understand a little bit more about what
[149 - 150] it takes to make a real deal with
[150 - 152] parmesan I think it's time to head to
[152 - 154] the kitchen and check it out the best
[154 - 156] stuff comes pre graded in this beautiful
[156 - 158] canister you can shake it out like pure
[158 - 160] snow onto the frozen tundra that is your
[160 - 164] food what am I saying right now real
[164 - 166] parmesan isn't just big and bold when
[166 - 167] you put it in your mouth it's also big
[167 - 169] and bold when you buy it this is a
[169 - 172] quarter wheel of real Parmesan cheese a
[172 - 175] whole wheel weighs 84 pounds I've met
[175 - 177] black labs and ten-year-old kids that
[177 - 179] weigh less than that and I mean dogs and
[179 - 180] kids are great but when is it either
[180 - 182] them really improve the flavor of your
[183 - 185] don't answer that what I really want to
[185 - 187] show you is that this massive size
[187 - 188] actually has some pretty big
[189 - 191] implications check out this experiment I took samples
[191 - 192] check out this experiment I took samples of cheese from the very center of the
[192 - 194] wheel from another location one inch in
[194 - 196] from the side and bottom rind and
[196 - 198] another location right between those two
[198 - 200] I then asked my teammates on Cook's
[200 - 201] Illustrated to taste all the samples
[201 - 203] blind and talk about their flavor and
[203 - 205] texture and rank them based on
[205 - 206] preference and here are the crazy
[207 - 209] results the sample taking closest to the
[209 - 212] Rhine ranked unanimously first it was
[212 - 214] described as nutty complex and
[214 - 215] pleasantly crumbly the sample of cheese
[215 - 217] taken from the center of the wheel
[217 - 219] ranked at the bottom it was described as
[219 - 221] smooth mild tasting and even plasticky
[221 - 223] and texture the middle sample ranked
[223 - 225] well right in the middle now I know what
[225 - 227] you're all thinking where do I sign up
[227 - 229] to put on a blindfold any Parmesan
[229 - 231] cheese all day and probably also what
[231 - 233] does this mean it means that cheese ages
[233 - 235] in a similar fashion to how a roast
[235 - 237] heats up in the oven faster towards the
[237 - 239] exterior it's slower in the middle and
[239 - 241] with a Parmesan sized wheel the
[241 - 242] difference between the inner portions
[242 - 243] and the outer portions can be
[243 - 245] dramatically different need more proof
[245 - 247] well let's talk about crunch you know
[247 - 248] what I'm talking about when you buy a
[248 - 250] nice piece of aged Parmesan cheese and
[250 - 252] you bite into it and find wonderful
[252 - 253] little crunchy crystals throughout I
[253 - 256] love those who doesn't love those it's
[256 - 257] like the cheese equivalent of having
[257 - 258] little bits of toffee in your chocolate
[258 - 261] bar those crystals are aggregates of the
[261 - 263] amino acid tyrosine it's not very
[263 - 265] soluble so as water is removed from the
[265 - 267] cheese during aging it comes out of
[267 - 268] solution and forms the nice crunchy
[268 - 270] Klumps these crystals are a clear sign
[270 - 272] of advanced age in cheese
[272 - 274] check out this experiment I used a
[274 - 276] peeler to shave samples from the edge in
[276 - 277] central locations and then manually
[277 - 279] counted the number of crystals in each
[279 - 282] yes yes yes I am a nerd but good thing
[282 - 284] that I am because now we all know that
[284 - 287] the cheese next to the Rhine averaged 20
[287 - 289] crystals per 10 grams where's the stuff
[289 - 291] from the centre is just 9 crystals for
[291 - 293] 10 grams that's twice as many cheese
[293 - 295] crystals all of this cheesy fun comes
[295 - 297] down to the final point that real
[297 - 299] parmesan isn't just one cheese depending
[299 - 301] on the piece that you buy and where it
[301 - 303] was cut from it can vary quite a bit if
[303 - 305] you want the crumbly esteem oast
[305 - 307] flavorful parmesan you want the stuff
[307 - 309] that's near the rind if you go for a
[309 - 311] corner piece like this that has rind on
[311 - 313] both sides you're gonna get it you are
[313 - 315] of course paying for rime at the price
[315 - 317] of edible cheese so there's some pretty
[317 - 319] heavy personal math that you have to do
[319 - 321] here but then again the rind is highly
[321 - 323] usable you can pitch it to a pot of
[323 - 326] super beans and let cheesy you mommy
[326 - 328] delicious flavour infuse into everything
[328 - 330] as it cooks or you can turn the Rhine
[330 - 331] into the world's greatest
[331 - 333] cheese cracker using just your microwave
[333 - 335] once you graded all the way down to the
[335 - 337] Rhine just slice it into thin strips put
[337 - 338] it on a piece of parchment and then
[338 - 340] microwave it for about a minute until it
[340 - 342] puffs they will turn nice and crispy as
[342 - 344] they cool how is this black magic
[344 - 346] possible well the small amount of water
[346 - 348] that's left in the Rhine heats up in the
[348 - 350] microwave turns to steam and explosively
[350 - 353] expands leaving a hard cheesy protein
[353 - 354] Network in its wake
[354 - 356] we've basically made cheese pork rinds
[356 - 359] or I guess cheese brides I know I don't
[359 - 360] need to tell you to grate parmesan on
[360 - 362] anything that you want a big boost of
[362 - 364] awesome flavor to me it's not really
[364 - 365] about whether or not you're adding
[365 - 368] parmesan that you are it's how you break
[368 - 370] it down for the desired effect a rasp
[370 - 372] grater is ideal when we want even
[372 - 373] distribution like we're adding it to a
[373 - 375] pot of meat sauce or on top of a plate
[375 - 377] of pasta a vegetable peeler makes
[377 - 379] beautiful strips that have way more
[379 - 380] presence on top of something like
[380 - 382] grilled vegetables or a beautiful green
[382 - 385] salad and big shreds off the box grater
[385 - 387] are perfect for creating a bold crust on
[387 - 389] foods like these incredibly cheesy
[389 - 392] crunchy savory juicy chicken cutlets oh
[392 - 395] man this all looks so good I guess in
[395 - 398] the end all of this is how to eat
[398 - 403] Parmesan have you ever tried
[403 - 406] ten-year-old Parmesan cheese or have you
[406 - 408] seen an 84 pound black lab it doesn't
[408 - 409] matter most importantly have you
[409 - 412] subscribed yet if not do it now you'll
[412 - 413] never miss an episode
[413 - 416] hey kid past the pom I cannot believe I
[416 - 421] cut you through that directly in my hand