I also use the rinds for spaghetti sauce. I asked the cheese guy at Fresh Market what he did with them; he said they threw them way. I asked him to save them for me because I used them in my sauce. Next thing I knew I saw them in the cheese case for sale. Been doing that for a long time--my grandpa saved them from his wheels of Parmesan from his Italian grocery store to give to grandma for the weekly sauce.

It's possible to oversalt the cooking water when making pasta....really it is! LOL! It can happen when the lid falls off the huge kitchen salt shaker into the boiling pasta. But if you don't think ti matters whether you salt your pasta or not...try it both ways....side by side. One pot of water salted so it tastes about as salty as the ocean and the other with no salt. Cook the pasta and add the same sauce to both and taste. Unless your sauce is over salted, I think you'll agree, salted pasta water makes tastier pasta. That's why cook books and chefs on cooking shows recommend you salt the pasta water. Linda C

I'm another who has successfully frozen home-shredded Parm. But one time, after shredding it, I accidentally placed the grated cheese in my fridge instead of my freezer. As Plllog indicated, it was fine after at least 1-1/2 to 2 months. So I stopped freezing it. Sometimes, just to make sure it stays dry and doesn't pick up moisture from the fridge, I'll stick a paper towel in the storage bag. I don't have a vacuum sealer. What a nice gift and super nice friend!

cactus, you may find that oxtail is more expensive than short ribs, as a cow has more ribs than tails. The tail used to be one of the parts the farmer kept because no one would buy it, now it's gourmet cuts! I was amazed when I found oxtail was the same price as Porterhouse. Mine are organic and grass fed because I raise them myself, same with the chickens. So it's really up to you. If it's important to you that it be grass fed and sustainably and humanely raised, or organic or whatever, then that's what it has to be. That's why I raise my own, commercial agriculture and their treatment of animals offends me. So I raise cattle and chickens, sometimes ducks and pigs. I have a big organic garden, eggs from my hens, and I want to get some bees. My husband? Not so much. (grin) Anyway, I'm a big proponent of buying local and helping out the small farmer (since I am one), so even if it isn't organic or grass fed or whatever, if you can get it from a local place I think you're a lot better off, both in quality and in sustainability and probably in the treatment of the animals you intend to use for food. I know Sleevendog lives somewhere in your part of the world, so the link/organization she mentioned is probably a very good place to start. I'm clear over here in Michigan so someone closer is going to know better than I do, of course. In the interest of full disclosure, all my broth doesn't turn out that gelatinous, but it was a good batch. Good luck... Annie