People often ask me whether they can freeze cheese. “Sure,” I reply. “But it won’t be the same when it thaws.” Putting cheese in the freezer is almost never a good idea—it alters the texture—although I can think of a couple of exceptions. If you like to stockpile Parmigiano Reggiano rinds for making broth or enhancing a pot of beans, by all means keep your collection in the freezer (although the rinds will also be fine in the fridge). But with the onset of autumn, I’m reminded of a little trick with frozen cheese that I learned from celebrity chef Michael Chiarello.
Read morePesto of Your Dreams
I’ve been working on my pesto recipe for a few decades but I’ve never been 100 percent satisfied. Sometimes I make it in a mortar, like you’re supposed to, but it seems to discolor more with that method. Sometimes I blanch the basil leaves for a few seconds to keep the color, a trick I learned from Michael Chiarello, who also adds a pinch of ascorbic acid for the same reason. But that always seems a bit like cheating. Recently, perusing a new Italian cookbook, I saw another approach that intrigued me.
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