SORBETTO DI PARMIGIANO (SORBET OF PARMIGIANO

      Title: SORBETTO DI PARMIGIANO (SORBET OF PARMIGIANO
  Categories: Ice cream, Italian
       Yield: 8 Servings
  
       1 c  Parmesan cheese; freshly /
            - finely grated
       3 c  Skim milk
       3    Egg yolks
       1 pn Salt
       1 pt Heavy cream
       2 lb Rock salt
  
   "Sorbetti became very popular in the eighteenth century, and the
   category included many non-sweet dishes. There is a famous treatise
   on sorbetti by a physician of the time, telling of the many
   therapeutic uses for these iced dishes. This one, of Parmigiano, is
   typical of the non-sweet examples, and perhaps the easiest to
   understand for the modern palate. It should be eaten in place of the
   cheese coarse, either instead of dessert or before it. The dish has
   an established place in the old Parma cooking and is *not* an
   experiment."
   
   Soak the grated Parmesan in a small crockery bowl with
         1    cup of the milk for 1 hour.
   
   Heat the remaining milk in a flameproof casserole and, when the milk
   reaches the boiling point, add the soaked Parmesan and the milk. Stir
   with a wooden spoon to keep the cheese from sticking to the bottom of
   the casserole. Simmer for 2 minutes.
   
   Line a small strainer with a heavy cheesecloth or paper towels and
   place it over a crockery bowl. Pour the contents of the casserole
   through the cheesecloth and let stand for about 1 hour to drain
   completely. Discard the gummy residue of the cheese remaining in the
   strainer. (This residue will have lost the flavor of years of aging
   and will resemble the bland fresh curd of Parmesan. The flavor, of
   course, will have been absorbed by the milk.)
   
   Be sure the liquid in the bowl has no cheese grains in it. Then
   prepare a "custard cream" using this liquid and 3 egg yolks and salt,
   following standard pastry cream directions.
   
   Transfer the cream to a crockery bowl and let stand until completely
   cool. Prepare the Sorbetto, following ice cream maker's directions.
   
   Source: Giuliano Bugialli's Classic Techniques of Italian Cooking
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