Parmesan Isn’t a Steak (And That’s the Whole Point)

I love Parmesan.

I love what it represents: time, craft, microbes, patience, tradition. I love what it does in food — how a small amount can completely transform a dish. And I absolutely believe it can be a nutrient-dense food when it’s made and used well.

But lately I’ve been seeing a trend that keeps popping up: Parmesan being promoted as the most nutrient-dense protein source, sometimes even positioned as a replacement for meat because it “has more protein than beef, chicken, or eggs.”

A few mainstream articles have amplified the same basic idea: Parmesan (or Parmigiano Reggiano) clocks in at around 10 grams of protein per ounce, which is unusually high for cheese.

And that can be true… and still be the wrong comparison.

Because when you compare Parmesan to steak purely on “protein per ounce,” you’re not really comparing foods — you’re comparing levels of concentration.

That’s apples to oranges.

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What Happens Between Milk and Parmesan

This is where Parmesan becomes such a perfect teaching tool.

You begin with milk — mostly water, with fat, lactose, minerals, and protein suspended in an elegant structure. Then cheesemaking uses biology and chemistry to transform it:

• Starter cultures acidify the milk, shaping flavor and controlling the microbial landscape.

• Rennet enzymes (primarily chymosin) coagulate the milk by destabilizing the casein micelles and forming a curd.

• You cut the curd, increasing surface area and beginning the controlled release of whey.

• You cook the curd, gently tightening the protein network and driving out more whey.

• You drain and press, pushing out even more moisture.

• You salt, which regulates microbes, protects the cheese, and shapes texture.

• And then you age, for months to years, while enzymes and microbes break proteins and fats down into an extraordinary library of flavor and aroma compounds.

During aging, proteins are absolutely transformed into smaller peptides and amino acids which is part of why aged cheeses can be so delicious and often easier for some people to digest.

But here’s the key:

The cheesemaking process doesn’t create protein.

It reorganizes it, makes it more available, and builds flavor but the reason Parmesan is “high-protein” is mostly because so much water (whey) is removed.

Fresh cheese curd in one of the Food Lab’s cheesemaking classes

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Parmesan Is High-Protein Because It’s Concentrated

This is the apples-to-apples point.

Cheese wheels in Limuru

Parmesan ends up with about 35.75 g protein per 100 g. That works out to roughly 10 g protein per ounce, exactly what the trend is quoting.

Compare that to a typical cooked steak. Many cooked beef cuts land roughly in the ~27–31 g protein per 100 g range, or about 7.7–8.8 g per ounce.

So yes: per ounce, Parmesan can look like it “beats steak.”

But that’s because Parmesan is the dehydrated, reduced, aged version of milk, not because it’s some magical protein generator.

A more honest comparison would be this:

Parmesan is to milk what beef jerky is to steak.

Both are concentrated foods.

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The Better Comparison: Parmesan vs. Beef Jerky

If we want to compare apples to apples, we compare concentrated food to concentrated food.

Beef jerky is commonly listed at about 33.2 g protein per 100 g. Parmesan sits around 35.75 g protein per 100 g.

Those numbers are in the same neighborhood because both products have had a major portion of their water removed.

And importantly: they’re both delicious, traditional (when made well), and portable. But they’re also both “small serving” foods in the real world because concentration comes with intensity (and usually more sodium per bite).

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The Real Point: Processing Is Powerful (When It’s Done Right)

Visiting Neal’s Yard Dairy in London (2018)

This post isn’t anti-Parmesan. It’s not anti-steak. It’s not even anti-jerky.

Milk is an incredible food.
Parmesan is an incredible transformation of milk.
Meat is an incredible food.
Jerky is an incredible transformation of meat.

The point is simply this:

When we make food decisions, we have to compare apples to apples.

“Protein per ounce” can be useful but it can also mislead if we ignore what happened to the food to get it there.

And protein is only one variable.

To be truly nourished, we also have to consider:

• How the food was processed (or not processed)

• Detoxification and antinutrients (where relevant)

• Digestibility and bioavailability

• The microbial story (fermentation especially)

• The full nutritional context — not a single number

Traditional processing — fermentation, aging, drying, curing, nixtamalization — can make foods safer, more nutrient-dense, more digestible, and often more meaningful.

But we only see that clearly when we compare foods fairly.

So enjoy Parmesan.
Enjoy steak.
Enjoy jerky.

Just make sure the comparison makes sense.

Dr. Bill at Neal’s Yard