22
votes
What to snack on (other than slices of parmesan)
so this might be a weird question but -- occasionally, particularly in the evenings, I get a strong craving for parmesan cheese. I live in Germany, so I don't mean the green tube kind either. I'll just take little slices off a wedge of real-ass parmesan that we bought to shred over pasta and such.
Thing is, parmigiano reggiano is pretty expensive, and the similar replacement cheeses like pecorino aren't that much cheaper. But I don't know of any other snack that can deliver the combo of saltiness and umami like just munching on slices of italian hard cheese.
So, does anybody else on Tildes understand this? Or have any recommendations for other foods to scratch this itch? Keeping in mind I'm in Germany, so I'm limited to stuff I can buy here.
I know what you mean, but I find any cheese is good enough for me. Manchego is pretty good umami cheese. You could also consider something like miso soup (which you can buy in little sachets) is salty and umami and takes longer to consume which is a positive for me.
oh hm something like miso soup hadn't occurred to me. I have some dried nori sitting around, I wonder if that would help scratch the same itch.
Have you tried a yeast extract spread like Marmite before? If you spread it super thinly over a buttered slice of toast it's delicious, IMO. It's definitely an acquired taste, but much like Parmesan, it's also a salty umami bomb, so you might like it.
Yep, you can never go wrong with Vegemite on toast. I'm not a fan of Marmite though, I find it sweeter and greasier than Vegemite.
I haven't seen Marmite at stores here -- I've only tried it once when I was in England and I don't recall liking it lol
How about going all in. Pimp it up with a small bit of honey.
Oh I used to love going to town on würzig Bergkäse with white wine.
I've changed to corn chips. Not the flavoured kind, not the supermarket kind, the legit corn chips pure mais from intentionally shops.
I paired it with some honey-roasted cashews tonight and I hella recommend.
I do understand it!
Maybe mushroom crisps?
Really aged cheddar, the kind that also gets the salt crystals?
I don't think the Germans appreciate cheddar to the same extent, but I'll sniff around the real cheese counter to see what they have. I've never heard of mushroom chips, I'll have to look around for them!
They're sometimes chips and sometimes crisps but usually they're freeze dried. Idk if they're worth doing in a dehydrator or oven instead.
Have you considered non-cheese options? Sometimes I eat teaspoons of miso paste for much the same reasons. There are a wide range of miso variants too, so if the first one you try doesn’t hit quite right, there’s a lot of space to explore.
I've not ever really gotten into miso, I think I've only ever had miso soup at a hibachi place one time! So I think I'd need to try it to see what I think of it first!
Yeah, I was going to say maybe try some more fermented food. My first thought was kimchi but since they are in Germany maybe sauerkraut instead?
Weirdly, I love kimchi but hate sauerkraut. Though kimchi strikes the exact opposite note for me compared to parmesan, I'm in that for the acid and spice.
Here in the states it's common to snack on low moisture mozzarella sticks. It's much cheaper than aged cheese.
I love some string cheese or babybel too, they're a great snack for the same time period of the evening, but they're definitely not as good on the salt and umami front.
If you're a vegetarian limited to what's available in German markets, it's kind of difficult to find something with the equivalent tang and crunch of the calcium lactate and amino acid crystals in Parmesan. Aged Comté or Gouda cheeses might come close, but aren't likely to be any cheaper.
Maggi is a soy-like umami-rich vegetarian seasoning sauce that's German-native.
Sauerkraut is crunchy and naturally umami-rich. Nutritional/brewer's yeast can be a tasty and cheap cheese substitute, good on popcorn. Porcini mushroom powder is expensive, but a little goes a long way - use it on pasta, or in soups, stews, and sauces.
If you're not a vegetarian, there's always Schinkenspeck, the equivalent of prosciutto. Expensive, but again, it's intensely flavored and you only need a tiny bit.
Ooh I'm not vegetarian so Schinkenspeck might not be a bad idea... honestly, having some sliced sandwich meat on hand might be the way to go for my midnight snacks when I'm craving umami, it'd probably be healthier than eating half a wedge of parmesan.
More German charcuterie for you - Landjäger is a dry-cured snack sausage (like the salami-style meat sticks favored by American hunters) that's pretty intensely flavored.
Ooh I'll take a look! German-specific stuff to look out for is always welcome.
Differing Opinion... have you considered that your body is trying to tell you something. Parmesan Cheese is packed with micronutrients, and has a pretty high salt content (daily value wise), etc. You're body could be telling you it's deficient in sodium or another nutrient which is fueling your cravings.
Maybe pick other snacks that have some of the same nutrients and see if they satisfy the cravings. Wouldn't hurt to get some bloodwork done to see if you are deficient in area's of the essentials your body needs.
I've had bloodwork done earlier this year, so I'm relatively confident I'm not severely or chronically deficient in something dietary (unless parmesan has a connection to my hypothyroidism somehow), but it definitely could be that my body is low on something during these parmesan cravings! The only thing I can say for sure is it's not just salt, because other salty snacks like chips aren't appealing when I'm in this mood.
This is pretty American, so maybe it doesn't make sense, but have you tried nachos? If you can get tortilla chips and melt even a mild cheddar over them, that can be pretty good on its own. The chips will bring additional saltiness and crunch. Pro tip: don't skimp on the cheese.
You can also add pretty much anything to them. I'll add salsa and sour cream (before cooking! It sounds weird but the hot sour cream is so good). Any leftover meat cut up small and sprinkle over the top is good.
You can make as much or as little as you want. I usually do 8 minutes at 300F on a cookie sheet in the oven. Eat them right away, while the chips are still crispy.
Seconding with quesadilla suggestion.
I'm pretty American myself, so no worries on that front. I hadn't thought of making my own nachos at home, but that's not a bad idea to try!
OP its 2am and all i could think of reading your post is how i could fuck up a Landjäger right now.
Aged cheddars are pretty similar in a salty umami kind of way and should probably be available at a local store and (probably?) cheaper than parmesan.
Honestly, here in Germany, it's probably harder to get really aged cheddar. Though I suppose I could check the cheese counter at one of the bigger grocery stores in my area, it's definitely not in the cheese section in the smaller grocery store! Even relatively mild cheddar is surprisingly scarce here, since it's not the default cheese the way it often is in the US.
To add: a quick bit of googling pulls up a news article about the popularity of Kerrygold products in Germany, including Kerrygold cheddar. Their aged cheddar or a similar product would be exactly what I was thinking of. Though how it compares price wise to Parmesan I don’t know.
I was thinking there was likely to be some sort of aged English cheddar hanging around somewhere. I think I used to get a Monoprix store brand that was pretty good when I lived in France.
Kerrygold's cheddar slices and shredded cheese is pretty much the only cheddar available in the prepackaged cheese section at my local grocery store, but it's not very sharp -- it's more for a grilled cheese or something. It's possible they'll have some proper aged stuff at a store with a bigger selection or a proper cheese counter, though.
Do you eat meats? How about jerky or something cured like salami?
I haven't tried anything like that when I'm in this mood so idk if they'll scratch the same itch, but it's on the list of things to try!