The cracking of the aged Italian Grana Padano cheese wheel returns in northern Westchester this weekend.
Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace will do another in-store demonstration of how the massive cheese is cut into parts on Saturday, June 27, starting at 1 p.m., at its Yorktown Heights grocery store, Uncle Giuseppe’s Facebook page said.
It was something to watch last time around. Customers gathered on June 4 as Dennis Linkowski, the store’s cheese manager, used specialized tools to finesse the cracking of the cheese.
Grana Padano is a crumbly, crystalline cheese that has its own protected designation of origin, or DOP (similar to how champagne can only be called that if it’s from France’s Champagne region).
The cheese’s origin is put at the year 1135. It comes from Italy’s Po River Valley and must age at least 6 to 12 months and for up to two years.
Monks in the region who raised cattle came up with the hard cheese as a way to preserve milk.
Uncle Giuseppe’s said people can taste samples and see why it goes well with pasta, charcuterie boards, salads, and snacking. Saturday will also have a special offer: Grana Padano at $12.99 a pound.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Uncle Giuseppe’s to crack massive cheese wheel in Yorktown June 27
Reporting by Michael P. McKinney, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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By Michael P. McKinney, Rockland/Westchester Journal News | USA TODAY Network
