Thursday, April 27, 2006

Parrano, "The Gouda that thinks it's a Parmesan" An Italian Imposter

The ANNOTICO Report

 

As acknowledgement to superior Italian Cheeses, marketers of Parrano, an aged Gouda-style Dutch cheese,go to some lengths to imply that Parrano is Italian-made. It is not. It is made in Holland. "We say it's...sort of Italian." "The Gouda that thinks it's a Parmesan" was the original Parrano slogan, and efforts to associate the cheese with Italian style and taste continue.

The author says: "It's curious to me because Parrano resembles nothing I know from Italy". "It's made like a Gouda, but it has the flavor of true Parmesan," states a company rep, who says that Parrano is made with "the same cultures used in Parmesan," but he cannot mean Parmigiano-Reggiano. That distinguished cheese is cultured with whey from the previous day's production, not with purchased culture. In any case, to my palate, Parrano is a perfectly fine Gouda but it has nothing in common with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Parrano has a wax-coated natural rind and a semifirm, dense golden paste that is smooth and creamy on the tongue, with the occasional crunch of a protein crystal. It smells of caramel and its flavor is balanced and mellow, with a sweet finish. It offers little complexity, just that interplay of sweet and salt that so often seduces the American palate.

 

DUTCH-MADE  PARRANO LEAVES A SWEET IMPRESSION

 

San Francisco Chronicle

Janet Fletcher
Thursday, April 27, 2006

 Parrano, an aged Gouda-style Dutch cheese, has enjoyed double-digit sales growth in the United States every year for the past decade. That's impressive and perhaps an indication of the kind of cheese that appeals to Americans, although sales had nowhere to go but up.

Parrano (Pah-RAH-no) is a relatively new cheese, created about 12 years ago by UnieKaas, the largest Dutch cheese company.

Curiously, the marketers of this cheese go to some lengths to imply that Parrano is Italian-made. It is not. It is made in Holland, from pasteurized Dutch cow's milk.

"We say it's...sort of Italian," says the company's Web site. "The Gouda that thinks it's a Parmesan" was the original Parrano slogan, since dropped, but efforts to associate the cheese with Italian style and taste continue.

It's curious to me because Parrano resembles nothing I know from Italy.

"It's made like a Gouda, but it has the flavor of true Parmesan," says Steven Margarites, who markets the cheese in the United States. Margarites says Parrano is made with "the same cultures used in Parmesan," but he must not mean Parmigiano-Reggiano. That distinguished cheese is cultured with whey from the previous day's production, not with purchased culture.

In any case, to my palate, Parrano is a perfectly fine Gouda but it has nothing in common with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Made in 15-pound wheels and aged for five months, Parrano has a wax-coated natural rind and a semifirm, dense golden paste that is smooth and creamy on the tongue, with the occasional crunch of a protein crystal. It smells of caramel and its flavor is balanced and mellow, with a sweet finish. It offers little complexity, just that interplay of sweet and salt that so often seduces the American palate.

Despite its sweet impression, Parrano contains no measurable sugar. All the natural milk sugar, or lactose, has been converted to lactic acid, as in all aged cheeses. The sweet sensation we get from aged cheeses is the result of the breakdown of fats and proteins as the cheese matures.

Enjoy Parrano as a dessert cheese, with some toasted hazelnuts and a glass of Sercial or Verdelho Madeira.

Next up: Castelmagno, an unusual blue cheese from northern Italy.

E-mail Janet Fletcher at jfletcher@sfchronicle.com.


URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=

/c/a/2006/04/27/WIGCFID8JU1.DTL

 

 

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