Pasta tossed with grated aged cheese and pasta water (melt test)

variation: serve the salty cheese on its own with honey or fig jam.

Grate the cheese from the block; a properly aged cheese is drier, takes more effort and does not stick to the hands.

Put some cooked pasta in a bowl, add the grated cheese and some pasta water, and mix.

With a dry, aged cheese the cheese melts quickly into a lump-free cream (cremina) of pasta water and cheese, even once the pasta has cooled; young or shredded cheeses stay lumpy.

variation: Pecorino on cooled pasta melts the same way because it is a dry cheese.