How do you keep parmesan from "balling" up in containers.?

Question

We have tried to add kosher salt but it didn't help. We use lots of cheese but can't keep it smooth. It always seems to clog all the openings in the containers we use for our deli.

The parmesan cheese comes to us in sealed pouches, so we do not do any grating whatsoever. We really could use help with this problem. What is the best way to store it, once it is in a shaker. We make "lots" of bread sticks with this cheese, and just have so much "balling" up in the shakers. Is it better to keep in a cool place when not using or can we keep it at room temperature. What makes the cheese "ball" up anyway?

Answer 1

Buy it solid and grate it as you use it with an extra fine grater. It keeps longer, tastes fresher and you can grate as little or as much as you want then keep solid whatever is left.

If you can't grate it. you could put unpopped popcorn in the shaker if the holes are not so large they would fall thru and break someone's tooth, they would act as little ball bearings and keep breaking it apart as you shake. Rice is likely to fit thru the holes and it doesn't absorb moisture, but neither will the popcorn, if it did you could just sit it in a bowl of water and it would get soft,.

If you use the popcorn put it in the empty shaker and do your best to shake it out so you are certain it won't come out on the food.

Answer 2

Humidity causes the problem. Moisture sticks to the cheese, which causes the cheese to stick to itself and other pieces in the same container. Chilling it will bring out additional moisture, and the problem will get worse.

Make a little cheesecloth pouch with rice in it, and put it in the container with the cheese. This will help in two ways.

1. The rice is a dessicant, which will absorb some of the moisture.

2. The rice is a physical wrecking ball, which will break up clumps in the cheese whenever you shake it.

Answer 3

I periodically shake it, Makes all the difference in the world.