Steady Hands

In the midst of the busy holiday season, it's becoming ever more difficult for me to find time to photograph anything, let alone something worthy of a blog post. Well last night, after 10 hours at the store and several more projects to finish, Nancy taught me how to properly open parmigiano-reggiano cheese. Parmesan is delivered to us a quarter wheel at a time, some 20 pounds of beautifully sharp cheese with its name imprinted on the rind. I had watched Nancy open the cheese, cutting off small wedges of parmesan with a variety of Italian tools.



As she commented before she let me begin, it really was not too difficult. A small almond-shaped blade is used to score the cheese on the rind where it will be opened. It is important to cut through the rind to the cheese so that it splits properly. After the rind has been scored, several metal wedges begin to split the cheese apart, and a final thicker blade rectangular in shape is inserted between to finish the cut. The result is delicious hunks of authentic Italian parmesan. The experience was both fun and exciting, with that delicious nutty aroma wafting upwards as I cut. A great end to my night.

____________________
Eric
Eric Lovelin Photography