release the crackin'

Saturday I had the opportunity to watch the cracking of a wheel of Parmesan at the Nashville Whole Foods. It was quite entertaining, from the actual cracking, to the samples, to the characters that come out to such an event (such as the older woman that feigned interest in buying a small wedge so that she could scoop up double handfuls of the smaller pieces on the cutting table).  The event held at many Whole Foods stores was intended to set a record for the number of wheels simultaneously cracked open. I was able to sample a couple tasty treats.  First, I had a small piece dipped in Belgian chocolate. It was amazing! Such a wonderful contrast with the smooth, sweet chocolate and the dry, crumbly, salty cheese (I love to mix my salty and sweet)!  Next, I had a couple small pieces from the fresh-cracked wheel. The first was from the center and seemed slightly softer, but the second morsel was full of grainy crystals. It was fun to experience two different textures from the same wheel.  The final treat was...get ready...Parmesan gelato! I can't believe this is not a regular flavor.  It was delizioso! It was cool, creamy and surprisingly smooth (not sure how they would do that with a cheese with so much texture). At the beginning, you didn't really taste the Parm flavor, but it came on very subtly at the finish. They first cups they passed around were just the gelato, but a second batch came around again with a dollop of sour cherries. You wouldn't think they could have improved Parmesan gelato, but the cherries made it even better (mixing sour, sweet and salty).

But back to the actual cracking. There is definitely an art to it.  I wondered how much training one receives and how stressful it would be cutting this wheel weighing around 90 pounds and worth hundreds of dollars.  They used a set of 5 knives, specifically designed for cutting wheels of Parmesan.  After splitting it in half, and then half again, one quarter was dealt with at a time.  After scoring the rind with one knife, several v-shaped knives would be inserted in a row to split the wedge (into layers that were still quarter-wheel size, but thinner). This was done repeatedly until those small, thin quarters were cut into small wedges and blocks for sale in the store.