No. 97

Grated Parmesan and Swiss Cheese

Fromage Parmesan et Fromage de Gruyere rape

Cut off all the rind from the cheese, leaving no black part on whatever; grate by rubbing the cheese against a sufficiently coarse grater (Fig. 177) until it is all consumed; keep in a cool but not too damp place.

← No. 96 Gherkins Elementary Methods No. 98 Grated Horseradish and Horseradish Ribbons →

For the Modern Kitchen

A preparation note rather than a dish, but the details matter: Ranhofer's kitchen went through grated cheese by the pound, and the instructions assume a whole wheel on hand rather than a wedge from the refrigerator.

Take the rind seriouslyThe hinge of the whole entry is the instruction to leave no black part. Parmigiano rind is a hard, dried outer skin, in Ranhofer's day often darkened by oiling and carrying stamped markings; grated in, it stays gritty and will not melt into a sauce or gratin. Pare it off generously and save it for soup stock instead.
What the cheeses were"Parmesan" here means a genuine aged Italian wheel, closest today to Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano. "Fromage de Gruyere" means real Swiss Gruyere, not the mild deli slices sold as Swiss cheese in America; for a gratin or a soup topping, Gruyere or Comte behaves as intended.
Grater sizeThe book specifies a sufficiently coarse grater but gives no reason for it. Coarse Parmesan holds better but melts less evenly; a rasp-style fine grater gives the fluffy shreds usual now, at the cost of drying out faster.
Food processorFor anything above a few ounces, break the cheese into rough cubes and pulse in a processor. Very hard Parmesan will strain a plastic grating disc; the metal blade handles it better and gives a slightly irregular crumb that is fine for gratins.
Storage"Cool but not too damp" describes a larder. In practice, grated hard cheese keeps about a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator and several months frozen; grated Gruyere, being moister, goes off faster and is worth grating to order.
YieldThe original gives none. Reckon roughly one cup of finely grated Parmesan from 3 ounces of cheese, or about half that volume if grated coarse.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) was Charles Ranhofer's summary of some thirty years running the kitchen at Delmonico's in New York, and its "Elementary Methods" chapter reads like a set of standing orders to the brigade rather than advice to a home cook: how to cut gherkins, how to grate horseradish, how to reduce a whole wheel of cheese to a working supply. Grated Parmesan and Gruyere were staples of the French professional repertoire Ranhofer brought with him, going into soups, gratins, souffles and the crust of dishes finished under the salamander. Much of the cheese used in such kitchens was imported, though by the 1890s Swiss-style cheese was also being made domestically in Wisconsin and Ohio. Whatever prompted the book's numbered entry, the practical concerns are plain enough: an unbroken wheel was an investment, the rind was waste to be cut away cleanly, and the grated cheese had to be stored so it neither dried to dust nor took up damp and molded.