Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano

I keep a glass jar with a rubber sealed snap lid about half full of Parmigiano at all times in my refrigerator. It gets used up fast, on pasta dishes, omelets, soup, salads, and some chicken dishes. I source it from Costco, since it is my best price and size and I know I am getting the real thing. I ran out a month ago, and my Costco list is growing, So until I get there, we have been using Pecorino Romano and I am liking it very much. I actually started using it about two years ago, then picked up a wedge at Trader Joe's that I like more than the others I had purchased. I've been using it in all the dishes I used the Parmigiano with and, frankly, they are equally as good. So, do you have a favorite between the two, or another cheese you like better? Do you use them in the same foods or do you have certain dishes for each, that you prefer?

I like Pecorino Romano OK for some uses. But what we buy at Costco is the Parmigiano Stravecchio which costs about $20 for a thin wedge, and the question, to me, sounds like a parallel question.

"If I like a $10 wine as much as a $30 wine, why should I buy the $30 wine?"

There is a complexity in the Stravecchio that comes from the extra aging -- there is even a slight fruity note that I just love. It's kind of like the Romano cheese has the "right" flavor but it is monotone, just one single color, whereas a good Parmigiano will have many shades and hues surrounding that same central note.

At any rate just like with the wine -- if a person likes Romano (or 2 buck Chuck) just as well as the more aged and expensive stuff, I am not going to say "no, you should pay more." You should buy what you like.

We use Pecorino Romano exclusively because it is made from sheep milk (at least the Pecorino is, not all Romanos). Parmigiano is made from cow milk which I love but True Love is allergic. We get two pound wedges from BJs and tho I don't know the brand offhand, it is excellent.

I've always bought Pecorino Romano, usually from the local imported food store. Great on beans & greens soup.

At any rate just like with the wine -- if a person likes Romano (or 2 buck Chuck) just as well as the more aged and expensive stuff, I am not going to say "no, you should pay more." You should buy what you like.

Oh I certainly do buy what I like. To me, the two cheeses taste entirely different, that is why I was asking if people used one for certain foods and the other for other foods. One is sheeps milk, one cows milk, but I know you already know that. Frankly, I don't care what the price difference is between the two cheeses.

[Robin Garr]

To me, the two cheeses taste entirely different, that is why I was asking if people used one for certain foods and the other for other foods.

Absolutely! You are 100 percent on target with me, Karen. I always want both in the fridge, but I find Parmigiano more "refined," subtle and complex; Pecorino more in-your-face, stronger flavored but in a good way.

I like to use Parmigiano with subtler dishes, usually. Pecorino would overwhelm a risotto Milanese with saffron; but I'll use Pecorino with hearty, bold dishes like spaghetti al'Amatriciana.

Think of Parmigiano as a Burgundy, Pecorino as a Southern Rhone.

Is there no love for Grana Padano here?

I think the Parmigiana is the most exalted level---but then, it depends a lot on the aging time. I usually don't see the ageability of the Pecorino Romano, and I agree that it tastes fine but also that it doesn't have the flavor diversity and depth of the Romano.

I prefer pecorino toscano. Don't know if it's the different cows, or different pastures in Tuscany, but I do prefer the flavor. I like the fresh, 'weepy' milk-fat young toscanos okay, but looove the aged versions. And yes, I do have a nice soft spot in my heart for Grana Padano, it's true.

Depends on the mood. These are two of the cheeses in our core cycle. As others have said, Parmigiano is great and complex but it can get too sweet. Pecorino Romano is exuberant and flavorful but it can get too salty. The only thing that might tip the scales slightly towards Pecorino Romano is that it's usually half the price of Parmigiano. But both are still in our core pasta, polenta, risotto rotation, along with various blue cheeses and taleggio.

The only thing that might tip the scales slightly towards Pecorino Romano is that it's usually half the price of Parmigiano..

Yes, but Parmiagiano melts well on pizza and Pecorino Romano is a disaster in that application.

And I agree with Hoke that Pecorino Toscana is generally more delicious for my palate among the sheep cheeses (as are the Basque sheep cheeses, but let's not stretch too far).

They are two very different cheeses and for me, they are not interchangeable. I would never, for example, use a pecorino on a classic Bolognese ragu or butternut squash gnocchi or tagliatelle in brodo. A classic Neapolitan tomato sauce or sauces with greens, sausages and hot pepper must have pecorino for my taste. There are some dishes where a combination of both are acceptable. For many years I have used only Fulvi pecorino- it is less salty than Locatelli.
High, direct heat on Parm makes it bitter so on pizza, it is under the other ingredients with a dusting of pecorino with the mozz.
I keep 3 # chunks of both in my fridge at all times.

I'm with the rest of you on this. Parmigiano for most dishes, Romano for the heftier ones. I really like Pecorino Toscana as a table cheese.

((guess I was wrong here))

Yes, but Parmiagiano melts well on pizza and Pecorino Romano is a disaster in that application.

Don't concur. We use a combination of Pecorino Romano and Casio de Roma on our pizza (both from sheep), and they do just fine.

Speaking of pecorino toscano -- has anyone else been to the small town, Pienza, in the heart of Tuscany??

They are deservedly famous for "soft" pecorino, and there are many varieties.

We hid one in our suitcase and brought it back -- treated with oil and wrapped in chestnut leaves. One of the great cheeses, absolutely delicious. I wish I could remember the varieties, there were truffled cheeses, young cheeses, old cheeses, shelves and shelves of cheeses.

The town had sent a Pope to the Vatican who took the name "Pius" and then the town was renamed after him, and he provided funds to build it into a little gem, popular ever since with tourists from everywhere.

http://www.pienza.com/pecorino.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pienza

Speaking of pecorino toscano -- has anyone else been to the small town, Pienza, in the heart of Tuscany??

They are deservedly famous for "soft" pecorino, and there are many varieties.

We hid one in our suitcase and brought it back -- treated with oil and wrapped in chestnut leaves. One of the great cheeses, absolutely delicious. I wish I could remember the varieties, there were truffled cheeses, young cheeses, old cheeses, shelves and shelves of cheeses.

The town had sent a Pope to the Vatican who took the name "Pius" and then the town was renamed after him, and he provided funds to build it into a little gem, popular ever since with tourists from everywhere.

http://www.pienza.com/pecorino.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pienza

Hey! Been there!! One of the single best cheeses I ever had was some several years ago while on a business bus trip. Our driver developed a fondness for us (god knows why) and after we left Florence on our way to Piemonte we stopped at Lerici on the bay at La Spezia and the driver brought out a cheesecloth-wrapped flat 'pie' of that soft Pienza-styled cheese (although this was, technically, from his brother-in-law's little farm in Arezzo). As I wrote at the time, "when he sliced it with the knife it bled tiny little drops of milkfat." It truly was superb cheese. And the BIL's home-made vin santo in the two liter jug, freshly pulled from the attic, didn't hurt either. Then in the ensuing discussion our Italo-American guide/interpreter told us all about Pienza and it's cheeses. So, on subsequent trips, one thing led to another.

Thanks for reminding me of that, Frank.

Don't concur. We use a combination of Pecorino Romano and Casio de Roma on our pizza (both from sheep), and they do just fine.

Maybe you grate it very fine? Or use a younger version than I do. It never seems to melt properly for me.

Agree with most of the uses for these cheeses in cooking and love Robin's analogy. What no one is talking about is just eating these cheeses on their own. Parmigiano Reggiano is one of the great cheeses of the world and is wonderful when eaten with a good, fairly strong, Italian red. Pecorino Romano, not so much to my taste, and not as good with wine because it's more salty.

[Robin Garr]

Parmigiano Reggiano is one of the great cheeses of the world and is wonderful when eaten with a good, fairly strong, Italian red.

I enjoyed that combination once with a Valpolicella wine maker in his cellar. Around 9 a.m. on a brisk autumn morning he brought out about a quarter of a wheel of Parmigiano and started whittling off chunks with his pocket knife and serving it with samples of young Amarone thief'd from the barrels. Breakfast of Champions, I tellya.

I never thought of eating parmigiano "straight" until I went to a really good Italian restaurant several years ago and was served a diamond shaped chunk of the cheese on a little plate. Wow! I went out and bought the correct knife:



You can't make thin slices of parmigiano and put them in a sandwich, of course. You liberate these irregular chunks, working them out with the sharp tip of the knife, the cheese knows its own structure. And the fact that we like to eat a chunk of parmigiano with a glass of wine once in a while is what has me addicted to the Stravecchio (extra old) stuff from Costco.

I love eating Parmigiano Reggiano straight. Just slice off a chunk and enjoy, the complexity. Our poodle is crazy over it too, but that dog has excellent taste. The difference between eating whole and eating grated over a dish is so different. I save all the rinds and put them into soups, and pasta sauces that cook long and slow,

Honestly, I am similar to you in that I have no problem using them interchangeably. I often prefer the Parmigiano for traditional Italian dishes like pasta and the Pecorino for meats, like roasted pork.

I love both as cheeses to eat with white wines!

Use more Parmesan than Pecorino on food. Use more Pecorino in block form.

Most people know 'grated' Parmesan as the absolutely vaporized powder you get in a Kraft cardboard cylinder. Sad!

I like making tuiles of Parmesan by melting it on a hot pan and then quickly draping the result over a rolling pin or some other round shape. and serving them with Champagne (OK, or Prosecco if one wants to be correct about cheese-wine nationality). Can't do that with pre-powdered, you need to grate it fairly finely. Plain, or flavoured with paprika, black pepper, fresh chopped thyme.....yum!

There is a great Spanish restaurant in my hometown that serves an amazing salad tossed with loads of Pecorino Romano on it. It's a simle salad of iceberg lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and green olives stuffed with pimento. The dressing is simply red wine vinegar and peanut oil. The cheese MAKES the salad. In fact, I am craving it now.

There is a great Spanish restaurant in my hometown that serves an amazing salad tossed with loads of Pecorino Romano on it. It's a simle salad of iceberg lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and green olives stuffed with pimento. The dressing is simply red wine vinegar and peanut oil. The cheese MAKES the salad. In fact, I am craving it now.

Oh, this will go perfect with my dinner tonight. Thanks!