Primarily a grating cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano is a great topping for soups, pasta dishes, veal, chicken, or salads. Buy this cheese as a wedge and grate it yourself so you know you are getting the real thing. Provolone has an inedible crust and has strings to hang from rafters. Aged long enough, Provolone can be grated. However, it is better known as a table or sandwich cheese.
Ricotta is made from whey collected from making other cheeses and re-cooked.
It is white, creamy and mild and is primarily used as an ingredient in lasagna. When fresh Ricotta goes through its natural aging process, a hard, pungent cheese suitable for eating or grating results. Like fresh Ricotta, Ricotta Salata is almost white in color. More mild than Parmigiano Reggiano, it is a very popular grating cheese that sharpens as it matures. This semisoft, uncooked cheese from the region around Bergamo gains flavor and an accompanying odor as the cheese ages.