ottawa foodies

Can anyone recommend a good place to buy big hunks of parmesan cheese? I usually buy Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grano Padano. I use it a lot in the winter, so I want to find the best prices. Thanks!

Costco most likely. Though their availability varies

Costco usually has those. They rarely have Romano, though, which is my hard cheese of choice. ;)

I also love Pecorino-Romano, very salty. I don't have a Costco membership. I am hoping there might be somewhere in central Ottawa with good prices.

I don't know about *good* prices, because usually when I shop for cheese, I don't shop around. I know Il Negozio on Wellington carries all three, and that La Bottega in the market sometimes puts parmigiano-reggiano or gran padano on sale.

We've joked that the cost of membership is worth it for the cheese alone! ;) Romano there was about 3/4 the price of elsewhere, if not better, but they've not had it in awhile. You can get a really big wedge of Parmesan for about $25, IIRC.

Not sure about the price, but Farmboy on Merivale usually has Grana Padano on a sale display. For some reason it is their "on sale" hard cheese of choice.

Casa Nicastro has all three and usually has decent prices. The Nicastro's on Merivale often has ridiculous sales on all three cheeses, just not all at once... I'm talking $20 per kilo of #1 or Scelto Parmigiano-Reggiano.

My magic number is around $33/kg. Anything below this is a `good` price -provided we are talking real parmigiano. Costco sells at around $25/kg which is the best regular price I have ever found. I also don`t have a membership but try to tag along with someone 4-5 times a year to grab a wedge.

Grana and pecorino are usually a bit cheaper in my experience.

I've been following the Parma and Peco prices on and off at Nicastro's on Merivale for about 2 years.

They usually alternate the sales between the two cheeses each week. The sale price on the parma has been $19.99 for a long time until the last month or so it's been $24.99.

Peco sales price has been $17.99 consistently.

Other cheeses that go on sale are Friulano, Asiago and Crotonese. Can't remember the prices because I don't but them, but remember that the prices were good during the sales.

Sobeys on March Road $24.23/kg for parmigiano reggianno a couple/few weeks ago. They have different cheese on sales each week--with lots of variety for a supeermarket.

If you buy cheese at the Nicastro's on Merrivale or in the market---carpe diem. On three occasions I have bought what was labelled as Reggiano at a really good price only to find that it was Grana Padano when I got home...

One more thing about Parma at Nicastro's on Merivale.

When it goes on sale the showcase may have 'Emma' labeled pieces and unlabeled pieces.

The unlabeled is WAY better. The 'Emma' brand (I think this is the one Blah-Blah's carry) seems a bit 'waxy' for me and the taste is less complex.

I agree with the Captain regarding the Emma brand at the Nicastros on Merivale. I switched to buying at the Nicastros on Wellington when Merivale moved from the unlabelled to Emma brand.

We've also tried the Parm from Costco and it's cheap, but we also didn't find it was very good.

It's expensive enough that if we're going to pay the price, we'd rather pay for something we think is good quality. I'd rather pay more and use less if I have to.

I always buy my parm-reg from La Bottega, for the price and the quality, I have yet to come across a better deal.

Thanks all! I will first check Nicastro's & Luciano's on Preston and see what their prices are like. I'll go by the $33/kg & under benchmark. I'll head to the market this weekend and compare La Bottega too. I know Nicastro's on Preston occasionally has it on for $19.99/kg, not sure what brand though.

I have bought the Emma brand and was really disappointed.

The one person I know with a Costco card didn't renew this year. I can't be trusted in that store. I fall for the low prices on bulk goods I don't necessarily need and then have no where to store them in my small house.

hipfunkyfun I usually buy my parm at La Bottega since I live downtown therefore more convenient. I confess I don't check too closely for prices when I buy cheese since I have my favourite cheeses and stores to shop at-;) However I "think" I paid around $28/kg for the grana padano I bought at La Bottega last weekend. I know Luciano's sells theirs for slightly higher - I "think" I paid around $32/kg on my last visit there a few weeks ago. As others have mentioned I buy the unlabelled one since the taste is far superior to the Emma brand, or any of the labelled brands for that matter.

If you visit the Byward Market may I make a shameless plug for my favourite store Murray's Market? They have an excellent selection of local cheeses as well as lots of other local products.

Happy shopping!

Nicastro's on Merivale and La Botega in the market are the same family. Father on Merivale and son @ La Botega.

They share a weeky sales flyer. Link is on bottom of this page.

www.nicastros.com/welcome.htm

CAREFUL. Flyer is not always updated (timely). Check the dates on the bottom of the flyer.

My sis regularly buys her PR, store-cut & wrapped, at Nicastro's on Preston but recommends keeping it in the freezer (I think she now has them grate it for her - must be getting lazy, poor dear). I tried their store-cut PR and didn't freeze it and it was moldy in a month - I so rarely have had PR go moldy and never that quickly so I must agree with her about keeping it in the freezer. But I don't buy the store-cut now, only the vac-pac as it keeps quite a lot longer as I can easily go a month without need for it but always want to have it on hand as sources out here in Bedrock are unreliable.

If you keep cheese in the fridge your cheese should last for months. The reason it's going moldy generally is not using clean knives, graters, cheese knives.

HFF, the Parmigiano-Reggiano at Casa Nicastro on Preston is def. not Emma. They are unbranded as is their Grana Padano.

I don't know anything about good prices. If I need it, I buy it. Whatever it costs.

If I WANT it, I buy it. Then, I hide the receipt from the Dragonlady.

stopped into la bottega today. the Parmigiano-Reggiano was $34.99 and the Grand Padano was $21.99 (on sale). had a youngster with me and the line up was huge, so we couldn't buy any.

If Botega/Nicastro stays with their pattern. Parma Reg will be on sales next week (starting Monday) for $24.99. Let's see what happens.

Maybe I WILL start paying attention. $49.90/kg? HOLY CRAP! I may stop buying it at Loblaw's. We go through enough of the stuff that I could probably have gotten the bigger car last time I traded.

For those of us not so "fromagically" inclined, could someone post a compare and contrast of the two types of hard cheese? I know I've had both and have liked them, but surely they are not interchangeable?

I checked Nicastro's in the Glebe, the Parmigiano-Reggiano was $41.99/kg and Grana Padano was $34.99/kg.

Saurian - I generally can't tell a difference between the two. It is a regional thing, not everyone can call their cheese Parmigiano-Reggiano, only when it is made in a particular region in Italy. The Grana Padano is less strict and considered the closest match. Taste wise, I don't notice a difference from two high quality cheeses. I do notice a difference between some of the lower priced brands - like Emma. It crumbles differently and has a different flavour. Sometimes it doesn't matter, I wouldn't use a good cheese if I was going to be masking the flavour in something - like a dip. For the good stuff, I use it as the finishing touches on a dish, or just to liven up my veggies :)

I also really like Pecorino Romano, made from sheep's milk. It is really salty, so very good on pasta.

I look at it similar to the Champagne vs Sparkling Wine. If it isn't made in the Champagne region of France, it can not be called Champagne.

Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano do in fact come from different regions of Italy and in addition they are aged for different lengths of time. Grana Padano is typically aged for nine months and is the firmer of the two cheeses. Parmigiano-Reggiano is typically aged for a year and is the more crumbly of the two. I like to use Grana Padano when I want to add shaved cheese to my salads since the cheese is firm enough that it can be shaved nicely. I like to use Parmgiano-Reggiano on my pasta because it grates well. You could interchange one for the other though.

Ambrosi brand Parmigiano Reggiano is at Costco today for $28.79/kg. The rind is stamped Parmigiano Reggiano, but I have never tried this brand. And they have a new flat of chanterelles in today, still at $9.99/lb.

Parmigiano-Reggiano on sale at La Bottega 11.99lb until Nov 13.

Thank you HFF and Pasta Lover!

BTW. Nicastro's in the Glebe told me they are not associated with Nicastro's in the market or on Merivale.

Not sure about Nicastro's in Wellington Village.

They are all cousins/brothers. But...

Nicastro's in the market and Merivale are associated with each other.

Nicastro's in the Glebe, Wellington Village, and Little Italy are not.

It's Grana Padano @ 21.99/kg this week at Nicastro's Merivale and Bottega.

Here is the flyer:
www.nicastros.com

... and the gorganzola at 24.99/kg looks good. Yumm yumm in some pasta dishes or a little slab melting on the top of a good grilled steak.