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The Piedmontese cheeses |
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Piedmont is a region with secular tradition in dairy-farming. Some
products had theirs origins in the Middle Ages. The name
"formaggio" –cheese- comes from the medieval Latin "formaius"
with reference to "forma" –shape- being made substantially of
milk held in a shape.
The most known Piedmontese cheese is the Gorgonzola. Seven Piedmontese
cheeses have obtained the DOP brand (Of Protected Origin).
The best companion in order to taste the cheese with dignity is the
wine.
The red wine remains however the better choice: the Barolo for
example, or however a wine drawn from the grape of the Nebbiolo.
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Bettelmat |
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Kind of cheese: semicooked or cooked. It is introduced in round shapes
of diameter of 30-40 cm and weight of 5-7 kg.
Colour: gold or pale yellow
Seasoning: 3-4 months
Production: Val Formazza (Novara), to the border with Switzerland,
and Val d'Ossola, beside the glacier of Gries.
Note: Bettelmat is only produced in the summery months.
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Bra of alpeggio DOP |
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Kind of cheese: milk of Piedmontese race cows, raised in small stables.
The crust and the paste are similar to the tender or hard versions, like
also the dimensions and the weight.
Production: near the town of Cuneo.
Note: Bra is only product in the summery period, from june to
October.
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Bra tender or hard DOP |
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Kind of cheese: semifat cheese, made of cow milk (two day milking),
with eventual added of ovine and goat milk; it takes its name from the
city of Bra.
Colour: variable colour from the off-white to the pale-yellow -the
tender one-, or yellow ochre colour for the hard one
Production: the production extends to the Cuneo district and the
zone of Villafranca Piemonte near Turin.
Notes: it has remote origins. It’s the most popular cheese for
cooking the ligurian "pesto alla genovese".
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Bruss or Bross |
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The Bruss is not a cheese, but one dairy-farming preparation, made with
fermented and pasted old cheese with butter and some spices.
Bruss is a typical product of the prealpine zones or the High Langa. It
can be found all the year, even if the better season is the late winter or
the spring.
There is a strange Piedmontese way to say: " Mac l'amor a
l'é pi fòrt che 'l bros", only love is more strongly of
the Bruss.
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Cachat |
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Kind of cheese: cheese made of goat milk and pieces of goat cheese,
with juniper distillate or leek infusion, salt and conserved
Colour: milk-white
Production: Stura Valley, in province of Cuneo.
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Goat’s
milk cheese "of Rimella" (Caprino di Rimella) |
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Kind of cheese: cheese product with rennet of one year-old calf,
when it is destined to the fresh consumption, with lamb if aged
Colour: white man - tawny when it is fresh, clearly brown when it
is seasoned
Production: Rimella, Valsesia.
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Goat’s
milk cheese "ossolano" (Caprino ossolano) |
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Kind of cheese: goat’s milk cheese
Colour: crust: pale – yellow; soft compact paste: the same colour
Seasoning: it is produced from March to November, leaving to
acidify and to cool the goat milk until to 18-20 degrees.
Production: Ossola Valley: Domodossola, Varzo, Val Vigezzo.
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Castelmagno Dop |
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Kind of cheese: the most important Piedmontese, it takes his name
from the town of Castelmagno, where it is produced from ancient times. In
the 1800's the Castelmagno appeared in the menu of most prestigious
European restaurants. Castelmagno is made of vaccine milk and a small part
of ovine and goat milk. The particular taste derives from a particular
kind of grass ("evax " or " eves"), own of the
production zone.
Colour: smooth crust when he is young, hard, brown, when it is
seasoned. The paste is medium hard, of pearly white colour; with the
maturation it is white variegated with green.
Production: the original Castelmagno DOP is only produced in the
towns of Castelmagno, Pradleves and Monterosso Grana.
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Gorgonzola Dop |
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Kind of cheese: The most famous among Piedmontese cheeses. It’s
name comes from the Lombard town of Gorgonzola. It was recognized with law
of 1955: there is a consortium of protection of the Gorgonzola with one
hundred associates. Every shape must be marked by the DOP sign (Of
Protected Origin). The product exists in two versions: the
"tender" and the "pungent".
Colour: It has a rough crust, humid, tending to the reddish colour
when it is ripe. The paste is variegated with green.
Notes: Gorgonzola is used in thousand ways in the Piedmontese
kitchen, for example on the bread that (this simple solution exalts the
unmistakable taste), to the coupling with the mostarda of grape or on the
"polenta", even accompanied from a good wine.
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Murazzano Dop |
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Kind of cheese: DOP cheese – that is of controlled denomination
origin-; it is one of the more valuable members of the family of the
Robiole. In origin it was obtained from milk of sheep, today the original
version is very rare, since the discipline law concurs the use of a 40% of
vaccine milk.
Colour: the crust tends to the reddish colour when it is ripe
Production: zone of Murazzano, the High Langa
Notes: The Murazzano Dop must be wrapped up in the characteristic
triangular paper with the brand of the Consortium.
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Raschera Dop |
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Kind of cheese: one of great Piedmontese cheeses, recognized to
denomination of origin. It is made of vaccine milk, with ovine or goat,
coming from animals of tawny race - alpine or Piedmontese.
Colour: the crust is tawny gray, with small red traces. The paste
is of ivory colour, elastic, with small irregular eyes.
Production: Cuneo mountains, product on the Marine Alps around
Mondovì and in particular on the Alpe Raschera
Notes: the shapes of Raschera DOP, in order to differ from the
"Raschera d’alpeggio", are wrapped into green colour paper
(yellow for the version of "Raschera d’alpeggio").
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Robiola di Roccaverano |
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Kind of cheese: cheese produced with cow milk until to a maximum of
85%, with goat or ovine milk. Robiola di Roccaverano is the only Italian
cheese made up of goat milk to having DOP brand
Colour: skin thinnest ivory, stretches to pale-yellow if seasoned,
with reddish striations. The paste is fresh, tender and compact.
Production: Roccaverano, Langa of Asti and near Alessandria, in particular in the towns of Bubbio, Cessole, Loazzolo, Mombaldone, Monastero
Bormida, Olmo Gentile, Roccaverano San Giorgio Scarampi, Serole and Vesime
in province of Asti; Castelletto of Erro, Denice, Malvicino, Merana,
Montechiaro d' Acqui, Pareto, Ponti, Spigno and Cartosio in province of
Alessandria.
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Valcasotto |
Kind of cheese: The Valcasotto is an optimal
mountain cheese, unfortunately much rare, obtained from vaccine milk, with
a small percentages of ovine and goat milk.
Colour: the crust is much thin when it is fresh, while it becomes
brown and with signs of reddish mildews, if seasoned. The paste is tender,
of ivory or pale -yellow colour; it becomes creamy if seasoned.
Production: lands near Tanaro river.
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Bibliography:
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"Formaggi d'Italia",
Slow Food Editore.
*
S. DOGLIO, Il dizionario di gastronomia piemontese,. Daumerie
Editrice.
*
"Le strade del gusto". La Stampa, Slow Food Editore. |
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