How good is this!

[pete roper]

This is a machine that lifts, turns and dusts Parmigiana! Those *Things* are the cheeses! This is a tiny co-op in a small community. The farmers either have their milk picked up by a small tanker or take it to the plant themselves. Sometimes it's only three churns!

Really? How good is this? And why are these people happy?



Pete

PS. Gratuitous pic of 2,300-ish year old Etruscan gate in Volterra.



Volterra is great. The hotel we stayed in in Saltine de Volterra was even better!

[Kev m]

Hungry now...

[pete roper]

Kev, I don't know how much you pay for the *Raw* unadulterated stuff but in Oz 24+Month is upward of $70 a kg. There it's <$20. They need to be paid more ans some middlemen need to take a lot less. I'll leave that there, but the cheese, (Don't get me started on air dried prochiouto (Sp?).) is  stupendous, and try driving 20 miles and it is subtly different.....

Did I say I love Italy?

[blackcat]

"There it's <$20"

Damn, I just paid twice that for a comparitively little wedge of parmigiana. Can you bring an entire block of cheese on the plane? If so, I'd be buying another suitcase.

[Groover]

Seems cheesy to me

[Daniel Kalal]

This is a machine that lifts, turns and dusts Parmigiana!

As with many Americans, I grew up only knowing the ground up stuff that you sprinkle out of a large round green container onto your spaghetti--entirely forgettable.   I first had the real deal in Italy, and was just amazed at how very good it can be!  On top of that, it's just everyday cheese in Italy.

Yes; I love Italy, too.

-d

[Groover]

The pre-grated stuff has a lot  of filler; Cellulose and they add that so it doesn't clump. So you get cheese plus some ground-up trees on your pasta when you use that.. The good (if you can say that) is that cellulose helps lower cholesterol 

[Penderic]

Italians know(s) good food!



mmmmmm smella good!

[ritratto]

Hey Pete....have not been to Parma yet, maybe on my next trip in October. Here is another one of those Etruscan gates in Perugia. Third century B.C.

And one of those plates one can only acquire in Italy!









I guess Italy is ok. 😄🤗

[fossil]

Break a piece of Parmigiano, put a drop of Aceto Balsamico on it, fresh tomatoes, ciabatta bread, a glass of a good dry red vine - OMG!

[pebra]

Break a piece of Parmigiano, put a drop of Aceto Balsamico on it, fresh tomatoes, ciabatta bread, a glass of a good dry red vine - OMG!

Now that's a simple recipe made in heaven!
Or a bed of ruccola leaves, a few small ripe tomatoes sliced, some (ok, a lot!) shaved parmesan on top, just a little olive oil and balsamico, and a glass of cool Greco di Tufo......

[pehayes]

Hey, Pete!  Turns out that cheese is on the good list for gout.  Go for it and chow down!!!

http://goutandyou.com/how-dairy-products-like-milk-cheese-and-yogurt-can-help-with-your-gout/

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[pete roper]

Hey, Pete!  Turns out that cheese is on the good list for gout.  Go for it and chow down!!!

http://goutandyou.com/how-dairy-products-like-milk-cheese-and-yogurt-can-help-with-your-gout/

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

Thanks Pat!  Actually the gout has cleared up, (Mine is usually trauma induced.) but I'm being very cautious with the red wine!

[Damnyankee]

Thanks Pat!  Actually the gout has cleared up, (Mine is usually trauma induced.) but I'm being very cautious with the red wine!

If you haven't tasted Caciocavallo yet Pete, you're in for a great treat, I love the stuff. We brought in some of our favorite wine for ya's, both red and white. We also have some homemade Ratafia, made by my grandfathers niece's and some Limoncello. Not really a wine person myself but the Montepulciano is excellent, I prefer  bianco, rosso gives me a headache Oh, beer, got some Peroni and Moretti but the bars are just downstairs so....
 
 

[lucian]

Leave it to Pete to travel to the land of motorcycle utopia and start a cheese thread. Glad you enjoyed Italy, looks like an amazing place.
 Have you been sworn to secrecy over the new Guzzi line up? Surely you can throw us a bone here.   Even complete horse shit would be ok with me. 

[Sheepdog]

Mmmm...cheese. Looks like a great trip, Pete!

[pete roper]

And here's a more sobering thought. This is the view from just below the Abbey at Montecassino. You can see why it was seen as such a threat to the allied advance on Rome as, although it turned out they weren't in the Abbey, the Germans were able to direct artillery with pinpoint accuracy over the whole valley.



Can you imagine trying to fight up that mountain? In January/February/March? With no armoured support while some of the most battle hardened paratroopers of the Wehrmacht hailed shells, mortars and triangulated machine gun fire down on you?



The casualties were appalling, 50-55,000 Allied troops and 20,000 German. It was generally seen as a heroic battle by the Free Polish divisions which effectively took several vital placements on the mountain with the bayonet. There is a large Polish cemetary just below the rebuilt Abbey.

It's eventual neutralisation opened up the way for the allied capture of Rome and their ability to drive Kesselring north out of Italy.

It's an eerie place.

[Markcarovilli]

"It's an eerie place."

Pete it is indeed but also breathtaking.  The road up and down is amazing as well...

Glad your enjoying the trip and the countryside...

Mark

[Sheepdog]

The First Special Service Force, a Canadian/US volunteer unit (the Devil's Brigade) made hay in that area, also. At Monte la Difensa(near Rocca d'Evandro), another mountain stronghold of the Wehrmacht on the Barnhardt Line they climbed the mountain and assaulted the Germans without rest. It proved to be a decisive victory and contributed to the eventual fall of Cassino. The 1st SSF suffered 77% casualties including many who collapsed from the sheer fatigue of the climb.

It is a humbling affair to visit a place where so many fought and died. I felt very strange when I visited Dachau near Munich and the Stasi Headquarters in Leipzig. A solemn feeling, indeed.