Ina Garten's Top Tip For Quickly Grating Cheese
When it comes to cheese, Ina Garten knows a thing or two. The Barefoot Contessa has proven her fromage expertise through some of her cheesiest creations. We love her grilled cheese and chutney, her lobster mac and cheese, and her blue cheese soufflé. Of course, when you teach yourself to cook by making the recipes of the woman who made French cooking so accessible to Americans, aka Julia Child, who was known for her own cheese soufflé, then you are bound to have a profound love and respect for all things dairy. Garten told Indie Bound, "I really learned how to cook by working my way through every recipe in both volumes of Julia Child's 'The Art of French Cooking'."
Garten recently took to Instagram to show her love for cheese (and her favorite cheese shop) when she was in Paris in May. She captioned the photo: "Too much cheese; too little time!" So true. The celebrity chef also revealed that her ultimate comfort food is a dish of the cheese persuasion: parmesan polenta. For those who love cheese, Garten is truly a kindred spirit. That's why we are loving her tip for grating cheese quickly, because honestly, it is going to save your fingertips (and, more importantly, your manicure) from the perils of a handheld grater.
Break out the food processor
Ina Garten may be associated with the phrase "store-bought is fine," but when it comes to grated parmesan cheese, she explained in an interview with Time Magazine that that's not the case. You have to do it yourself. And she definitely walks the walk on this one. During an episode of her Food Network show, "Barefoot Contessa," when she was preparing her favorite chicken parmesan, Garten revealed she uses a food processor to take care of the business of finely grating her cheese into the powdery grind that's needed for this dish. It's mesmerizing how quickly the food processor can manage this task.
KitchenAid concurs with this use of a food processor. In fact, they note that if you need to grind your parmesan, you are going to want to put it "directly into the food processor work bowl" and pulse until you get the consistency you desire. The appliance maker also notes that when you grate your own parmesan, the taste is fresher and better than if you had purchased a convenience container of the cheese already grated.