Implying that all cheeses of the same type are roughly equal is insanity if you actually cook. Even between different producers of the same region in the same country you can get wildly different texture, humidity, flavor, behavior when heated, etc.
That wasn’t the implication I was trying to make. I was saying that if you’re used to cooking with cheddar, you don’t replace it with parmigiano, and vice versa. They don’t serve the same purpose in cooking. If you’re cooking carbonara with cheddar, you’re obviously going to be disappointed in the result. If you cook a carbonara with grana padano instead of parmigiano, you’re like 90% of the way there, and most people won’t know the difference. They’re not equivalent but they’re similar.
Cooking cheese makes it lose a lot of taste. If you really want to appreciate the specificities of cheese, you should eat it raw. Also don’t forget to take it out of the fridge 30 min before so the fat is not cold and carries more flavor.
I think you’re understating the difference between cheap Cheddar and authentic Parma.
It’s like when the recipe calls for a glass of dry white wine, but the person exchanges it for Colt 45 malt liquor and thinks the recipe was the problem.
Implying that all cheeses of the same type are roughly equal is insanity if you actually cook. Even between different producers of the same region in the same country you can get wildly different texture, humidity, flavor, behavior when heated, etc.
That wasn’t the implication I was trying to make. I was saying that if you’re used to cooking with cheddar, you don’t replace it with parmigiano, and vice versa. They don’t serve the same purpose in cooking. If you’re cooking carbonara with cheddar, you’re obviously going to be disappointed in the result. If you cook a carbonara with grana padano instead of parmigiano, you’re like 90% of the way there, and most people won’t know the difference. They’re not equivalent but they’re similar.
Cooking cheese makes it lose a lot of taste. If you really want to appreciate the specificities of cheese, you should eat it raw. Also don’t forget to take it out of the fridge 30 min before so the fat is not cold and carries more flavor.
I think you’re understating the difference between cheap Cheddar and authentic Parma.
It’s like when the recipe calls for a glass of dry white wine, but the person exchanges it for Colt 45 malt liquor and thinks the recipe was the problem.