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I've read the following dish description in a wedding buffet menu:

Truffle essence potato soup with parmigiano pearl

I can't seem to find any relevant results using Google Search.

Peter Mortensen
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Jawad
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    For this question and the other about dressing, could you possibly contact the venue(s) and ask them. They should be able to tell you. If you can, I would be most interested to know what you learn, – Cindy Jul 31 '18 at 16:39

3 Answers3

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This is a translation from the Italian of perle di parmigiano. It is a mixture of egg whites and grated parmigiano formed into balls ("pearls") and deep or shallow fried. Youtube recipes (in Italian) are shallow fried here and deep fried here.

wumpus D'00m
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Parmigiana pearls are crystals that form in certain aged cheeses, in this case Parmigiano-Reggiano. They are crunchy and delectable. Think ultimate umami.

From this published scientific paper on SpringerLink :

In studies of Parmigiano-Reggiano and long-aged Gouda, PXRD has confirmed that hard (crunchy) crystals that form abundantly within these cheeses consist of tyrosine. Furthermore, PXRD has tentatively identified the presence of an unusual form of crystalline leucine in large (up to 6 mm in diameter) spherical entities, or “pearls”, that occur abundantly in 2-year-old Parmigiano Reggiano and long-aged Gouda cheeses, and on the surface of rindless hard Italian-type cheese. Ongoing investigations into the nature of these “pearls” are providing new insight into the roles that crystals play in the visual appearance and texture of long-aged cheeses.

*PXRD = Powder x-ray diffractometry

Unfortunately, people often mistakenly think these crystals are mold.

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These delicious tidbits are a treat for those who get to break down wheels of well aged cheeses.

Cindy
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    I have a feeling that the menu description probably refers to the deep-fried balls of cheese mentioned in the other answer, but either one would be a nice addition to truffle potato soup. – Joshua Engel Aug 02 '18 at 18:06
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Probably a Parmesan flavored Reverse Spherification of some sort.

(edit) Or maybe, cheaper, agar-agar Parmesan flavored pearls.

Max
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