CHEESE OF ITALY

How a given cheese tastes is that the results of variety of things . First and
foremost, of course, is that the sort of milk used: a cow's milk cheese tastes
different from a sheep's milk cheese, and a cheese obtained from a mixture of
water buffalo's milk and goat's milk has its own personality. The place where the
cheese is produced (more on this below), the season during which it's produced,
and the way long it's aged also are major determinants of flavor: generally ,
summer cheese tends to be more flavorful, because the animals prey on aromatic
fresh grass and wild herbs instead of dry fodder; and thus the longer a cheese ages,
the sharper and saltier it becomes.

The place where a given cheese is produced is prime to determining its flavor and
character. Because Italian dairies tend to process milk only from a delimited, and
sometimes quite small, area, the regional specificity of Italian cheeses is sort of
pronounced. Cows, goats, sheep, and water buffaloes munch on grass and hay in
their natural microenvironment; the grass and hay confer a selected taste to the
animals' milk, yielding cheeses with unique characteristics. Simply put, cow's milk
around Novara (Piedmont), say, tastes different from cow's milk around Bari
(Apulia); therefore, a cow's milk Ricotta produced in Novara will taste different
from one produced in Bari. this is often like the soil specificity of grape varietals in
winemaking: an equivalent grape varietal planted in two different locations will
yield different fruit, and therefore, different wines. Not surprisingly, even as for
Italian wine, Italian cheeses are safeguarded and guarded by a denomination
system: roughly 30 Italian cheeses are now labeled DOP (Denominazione di
Origine Protetta, or Denomination of Protected Origin). These DOP cheeses must
be made within a given production area consistent with strict guidelines, and owe
much of their character to their place of origin. The DOP cheeses are Italy's most
widespread cheeses, and, thankfully, nearly all are available in North America.

The Italian word for cheese, formaggio, could also be derived from the Latin
formaticum (which describes the reed baskets during which curds were set to
empty and mature) or from the Greek formos, for shape (meaning the mold wont to
shape cheese). the feel of cheese depends largely on its water content: the more
water is drained out, the drier the cheese are going to be . Some cheeses, like
Crescenza, are runny, almost liquid, while others, particularly the grainy grating
cheeses like Grana Padano, are dry and crumbly; in fact , the younger, fresher
cheeses are moister, and therefore the aged ones are drier and more friable.

A number of Italian cheeses are best suited to eating at the table, et al. are ideal for
cooking. But most are versatile enough that they will be savored raw or cooked.
confine mind that cooking a cheese (or a cured meat like Prosciutto, for that
matter) will tend to attenuate its unique character: if you actually want to savor that
completely aged Robiola, you would possibly be more happy eating it with a hunk
of country bread than stirring it into a pot of Quattro Formaggi (Four Cheese)
sauce for your pasta.

In Italy, cheese appears at nearly every meal: sometimes it's served as a course on
its own, after the most course in situ of dessert; other times it's incorporated in
dishes as diverse as pizzas or risottos. Of all Italian cheeses, the foremost famous is
Parmigiano-Reggiano, a crumbly, grainy, nutty-flavored raw cow's milk cheese
that hails from Emilia-Romagna; there are few Italian kitchens that do not keep a
wedge of this cheese available in the least times. Mozzarella, Pecorino, Grana
Padano, Fontina, Gorgonzola, and Taleggio also are prized across the country. But
despite the prevalence of those cheeses across Italy, Italians are fiercely pleased
with the cheeses crafted in their own villages, towns, and provinces, counting on
these less widespread cheeses to make their most characteristic dishes. Locally
produced cheeses often lend that haunting, undefinable note to pasta stuffings,
fillings or toppings for savory pies, and more. they're an integral, colorful a part of
the mosaic of the Italian regional kitchen.