cooking_guy
Assistant Cook
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2008
- Messages
- 38
Hello,
I was wondering what is the grated cheese that goes into pesto?
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...Hello,
I was wondering what is the grated cheese that goes into pesto?
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.
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
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!
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 timeThe 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.