Phantom Gourmet: Parmesan Cheese Taste Test

BOSTON (CBS) -- Phantom recently purchased four canisters of grated Parmesan cheese at a local supermarket.

The contenders were Classico, 4-C, Kraft, and Pastene. See if you can guess which brand ended up at the top of the food chain.

Classico finished in last place. First the good news: Classico is the only competitor that doesn't add cellulose powder to its recipe, resulting in a cheese with no added fillers.

Now the bad news: the cheese just doesn't taste very good. It's dry, flavorless, and definitely not anything Phantom would want to put on his pasta.

Next up is Kraft. With its familiar green label, this is probably the brand you grew up eating.

It has a pale off-white color, light fluffy texture, and a tangy, sweet, and salty flavor that make it a family favorite. It also happens to be the lowest priced brand of the bunch.

The problem is that while Kraft is kind of tasty, it doesn't really taste much like authentic parmesan at all.

The runner-up is 4-C. Yellow in color with a texture that's grittier than the others, this parmesan announces itself with authority. It's aged for more than ten months, which allows for plenty of nutty tangy notes to develop.

If you're searching for something strong, this might be your brand, but with such a bold flavor it's likely 4-c could compete rather than compliment whatever you're putting it on.

At the top of the food chain is Pastene. With roots in Boston's north end dating back to the eighteen-hundreds, this local brand certainly offers something worth sprinkling.

This grated parmesan is packaged in an upscale glass jar befitting its premium quality. With granules that are just the right size, and a rich flavor with a nice balance of tangy, nutty, and salty, this cheese will enhance anything you add it to.

That's why Pastene grated parmesan cheese is at the top of the food chain.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.