What is the grated cheese that goes in to pesto

[cooking_guy]

Hello,

I was wondering what is the grated cheese that goes into pesto?

 

[Valcoa]

Parmesan

It's Parmesan Cheese.

 

[sattie]

Parmesan is what is commonly used.

 

[cooking_guy]

thanks for the replies,

if pesto is made of parmesan, then pesto is not really vegeterian, correct?

 

[GB]

I think you may be confused between vegetarian and vegan. Vegetarian means that there is no meat. Vegan means there are no animal products. Vegetarians can eat cheese so your pesto would be considered vegetarian. Cheese is made from animal products so it would not be considered vegan.

 

[auntdot]

Of course GB is right. To get a bit off topic I Googled vegan, a term that I only heard six or seven years ago. Seems it was coined in 1944 and comes from the first three letters and last two of the word vegetarian.

The coiners of the term were Brits and why they were so worried about distinguishing themselves from the run of the mill ordinary vegetarians while WWII was raging, I have no idea.

Have only met one vegan and she was one smart woman who told me she would live to 150. Unfortunately she got into a one on one head on encounter with a big truck. So instead of her seeing the omnivore go first, I live to mourn her.

I apologize to the administrators for getting off topic. If I say that yep, Parmesan cheese is the stuff one tosses into pesto will that get me grace?

I hope so. Folks here are great and I would hate to be blackballed.

 

[GB]

LOL you mentioned pesto and parmesan so you are still good auntdot

 

[pacanis]

Roger Clemens got asked if he was a vegan at his inquiry. He said he did not know what that meant. Neither did I until now. I figured it was some kind of offshoot of vegetarian, but never looked to see exactly. Now I know!
Oh, and I don't like pesto sauce, but I do parmesan cheese :^)

 

[sattie]

When I first heard the word Vegan, I immediately associated it with some character on Star Trek... so there you go.

Are you looking for a vegan version of pesto?

 

[ChefJune]

Hello,

I was wondering what is the grated cheese that goes into pesto?

The traditional cheese for Pesto Genovese is Pecorino, but it seems that in US pretty much anything goes. The Parmesan that is easiest to find in US is that green stuff that comes in a can and is more closely related to sawdust than any cheese I've ever seen. Many folks use THAT in pesto, but if you can find fresh Parmesan, the domestic varieties are better than that powdery stuff. or get whichever of the hard grating cheeses you can find. Each will change the flavor a bit, but the overall taste should still be wonderful...

Besides Pecorino, there's Parmigiano REggiano, Asiago, Grana Padano. You can also sometimes find some dry California Jack cheese that is fine, too.

 

[sattie]

The Parmesan that is easiest to find in US is that green stuff that comes in a can and is more closely related to sawdust than any cheese I've ever seen. Many folks use THAT in pesto.

OHHHH, I would never ruin a home made pesto with that junk!!!! And I agree, never use that stuff in your pesto! I'm not sure what it is good for honestly!

 

[cooking_guy]

thanks for the replies,

the production of parmesan involves animal products (rennet), that is why my question., what do you guys think.

can pesto be made of say mozarella or cottage cheese

 

[sattie]

I would try mozarella before cottage cheese. You really need a cheese that will hold up in your pesto. Mozarella if used should be added at the very end and processed very lightly.

 

[GB]

It is the hard cheeses that tend to be used in pesto. I am not saying others can't be used, but mozarella or cottage cheese would not be cheeses I would think of when making pesto. Give it a shot though and see what you think. You may just come up with a new thing.

 

[ChefJune]

thanks for the replies,

the production of parmesan involves animal products (rennet), that is why my question., what do you guys think.

can pesto be made of say mozarella or cottage cheese

No. neither will work. the cheese needs to be a hard, dry one, like those that I listed earlier.

 

[redkitty]

I agree, those cheese won't work. My vegan cookbook suggests nutritional yeast in place of the cheese. It gives it an almost nutty cheesy flavor, I've used it in other recipes. You could also use no cheese and I'm sure it would still be tasty!

 

[bethzaring]

I agree, those cheese won't work. My vegan cookbook suggests nutritional yeast in place of the cheese. It gives it an almost nutty cheesy flavor, I've used it in other recipes. You could also use no cheese and I'm sure it would still be tasty!

wow, another revolutionary thought gleaned from DC, I'm gonna try that one, maybe 1/2 nutritional yeast 1/2 parmesan cheese the first time around.

I can get a nice Wisconsin parmesan cheese in a 5 pound bag. Well, I just looked at the bag and it says it is imported.hmmmm. Anyway, if you look around you can find a decent parmesan cheese instead of the sawdust stuff in the green container.

Thanks rk for the nutritional yeast idea

 

[Callisto in NC]

The traditional cheese for Pesto Genovese is Pecorino, but it seems that in US pretty much anything goes. The Parmesan that is easiest to find in US is that green stuff that comes in a can and is more closely related to sawdust than any cheese I've ever seen. Many folks use THAT in pesto, but if you can find fresh Parmesan, the domestic varieties are better than that powdery stuff. or get whichever of the hard grating cheeses you can find. Each will change the flavor a bit, but the overall taste should still be wonderful...

Besides Pecorino, there's Parmigiano REggiano, Asiago, Grana Padano. You can also sometimes find some dry California Jack cheese that is fine, too.

LOL ~ the can may be green, or was, now it's in plastic, but the cheese is only green if you leave it out for a very, very long time

 

[archiduc]

Hi cooking Guy,
For a pesto you need a hard Italian cheese like Parmiaggiano Reggiano, Pecorino or Gran Padano.
The traditional Pesto Genovese, to my knowledge contains basil, pine nuts, garlic, cheese as identified above, good olive oil and necessary seasoning although the cheese will add salt to the mixture so only a little pepper is necessary.

I have several cookery books which give different recipes for pesto in the sense of PESTO as a green sauce. Thus I have one by Ursula Ferrigno, who teaches and writes about Italian food, for mint pesto using mint in place of basil and another for lemon pesto which includes the juice and rind of lemons in the basil based pesto.

If one hunts through recipe books you may find basil being substituted for mint or parsley. I`ve used parsley very successfully in the past. Pine nuts may be substituted for almonds or walnuts. However, the cheese (Italian hard cheese), garlic and olive oil components are constants. It is worth experimenting with the different combinations as each has something to offer. That said, in a commercial situation one needs to ensure that the sauce is identified properly. Thus "Monkfish coated in Pesto Genovese (Basil and Pine nuts), wrapped in Parma Ham and roasted" will be a very different dish from "Roast Rack of Lamb with a Walnut and Parsley Pesto Crust" and needs to be identified as such so that customers can determine if it conforms to their taste or contains an ingredient to which they are allergic.

Hope this helps,
Archiduc

 

[ChefJune]

just a little history.... "Pesto" is the Italian word for "pounded." The traditional way to make "Pesto Genovese," (that luscious mixture of basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts and grated cheese) is to pound the ingredients in a mortar with a pestle until the desired purée is attained. Thank goodness we have food processors to do that for us these days. Who has all that time??? But Pesto doesn't have to be made with the above ingredients, nor does it have to be green. It just has to be pounded to qualify. Only Pesto Genovese has to have the above ingredients.

Another tasty pesto is made with parsley, garlic and walnuts and CA Jack cheese.