Food help needed - can I bake Parmesan crisps ahead of time?

[David M. Bueker]

Thoughts? Will they get soft if I bake then a few hours ahead? I'm doing a dinner tonight & don't want to leave everything to the last minute.

[Jenise]

David, you are talking about a a plain frico here, right, just melted/crisped parmesan cheese? Haven't done it seriously in advance myself, I'm afraid, so I can't be of help from experience. But as someone who practically lives in her kitchen, my instincts say that the closer they're made to launch time, the crisper they are. A few hours will probably not make much difference, but because they still contain some moisture content they will soften toward rubbery over a longer period of time which could vary depending on the humidity at your locaiton. Best bet is to let them cool COMPLETELY, then remove them to an airtight container.

Hope someone else can be more specific.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks Jenise - they will be ready about 5 hours or so in advance, so I will put them in a ziplock with parchment between crisps. Given that I live in the frozen Northeast the air is almost completely dry.

[Jenise]

With the dry air, probably no need to go airtight but either way, good luck and report back!

Please do let us know how this worked out. Jenise's advice was just about what I would have given you, but I've never tried to hold them.

For what it's worth, we made up a couple of bowls to hold tomatoes at a picnic last summer. Hot muggy afternoon; they lasted for five hours with no apparent damage until someone discovered the bowls were edible. Then, they were gone in less than 60 seconds.

These are such fun to make and everyone thinks they are much harder to make than they really are.

I've made them around noon for a 7pm dinner and not had problems.

[David M. Bueker]

Well I tried it, and only ended up with a couple that melted properly. I don't know what's up with that. It was not an oven hot spot issue, as the melting was random all over the pan.

Anyway the two that worked held up for several hours, but were devoured before our guests showed up (since I did not have 4).

David, maybe it's because you used the oven. I've made mine on the stove top with medium to medium high heat. Bottom heat only. Regards, Bob

I've never made them in the oven either. I never even thought of it, in fact. I lack imagination, clearly!

[Jenise]

I've never made them in the oven either. I never even thought of it, in fact. I lack imagination, clearly!

I've done it in the oven, but this is one of those preps that's better for micromanagement, and that's easier on the stovetop.

David--too bad, did you use authentic parmesan reggiano?

Frico can be made up to three days ahead, store between wax paper in air tight containers.

How do you make these ? I've never tried. Is it just a case of putting grated parmesan onto a frypan and cooking them crisp ? Do you use finely grated parm (powder like) or more coarsely grated ? I'm assuming you start with a block of parmesan ? Will it work with pecorino ?

My technique is to cut the Parmesan in strips, between an eighth and a quarter of an inch square. Great precision is not required.

Then lay it on a frying pan in a pretty pattern -- I like six and eight inch bowls at the end. Put the pan on the stove, set the heat to medium and as Jenise says, "micromanage the melt". When the cheese starts to stiffen up, I take the pan off the heat and put my bowl on top of the cheese, and invert the pan. The cheese will drape over the bowl. Let the cheese cool over the bowl until it is stiff.

Almost fool proof -- I can't remember when the result wasn't good.

It was interesting Google Parmesan crisps on the Internet; the great majority of the recipes call for using an oven.

Gee, now I am embarrassed; I see my technique changed in the past two years and don't remember why or when. Two summers ago I started a thread on this subject here.

Ah, well, Jenise has it right: "micromanage the melt".

Thanks Bob ! I'll have a go...

Celia

As I recall, the traditional cheese to use in a Frico is Montasio. Parmesan doesn't always melt so easily, I think.

Here are a couple of more links:
Here's one.

Here's another: Francesco's Frico

This one's alot more complicated. It uses several cheeses and stuffs them with rice, potatoes, onions and pepperonici.

[David M. Bueker]

I used a really simple recipe from Alton Browne (foodtv.com) with finely grated Parmegiano-Reggiano (the really good stuff). I'll try again on the stove some time.