CHEESE

Asiago

Cheese with 'Protected Designation of Origin' label.

Asiago D.O.P. is produced only within certain officially-recognized production zones, using milk collected in the same areas. Each form of Asiago cheese is guaranteed by the Consorzio Tutela, the Regulatory Board for the Supervision of the Production of Asiago Cheese.

So, when you choose Asiago D.O.P., you can be sure you're getting a genuine - and very delicious - product.

There's only one Asiago, and that is the real Asiago, which always has this symbol marked on the side of each form:

One cheese, with two different flavours.

Asiago is an Italian, Protected Designation of Origin cheese produced with two distinct flavors, corresponding with the fresh and ripened varieties.

The two varieties can be differentiated not only on the basis of their taste and consistency or the length of the maturing period, but also with respect to the methods of production used. Fresh Asiago - delicate and sweet, like milk fresh from the farm - is produced with whole milk. The ripened variety, the taste of which is stronger and varies according to the length of the maturing period (from 3 to 12 months), is produced with skimmed milk.

D.O.C. and D.O.P. certifications.

Asiago has been certified as a D.O.C. (Controlled Designation of Origin) cheese since 21st December, 1978, when a law was passed to establish the limits of the geographical area within which the milk used to produce this variety of cheese could be collected and where production traditionally takes place. The officially-recognized zones for Asiago cheese are defined as the entire provinces of Vicenza and Trento, and two areas in the provinces of Treviso and Padova. However, after the introduction of EEC regulation 2081/92 Asiago cheese was indicated for P.D.O. (Protected Designation of Origin) certification, which it obtained on 12th June, 1996 (Reg. 1107/96). 

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Gorgonzola

As enabled by tradition and law, only two Italian regions produce Gorgonzola cheese, and the following provinces only: Novara, Vercelli, Cuneo, Biella, Verbania and Casale Monferrato surroundings in Piedmont; Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Lecco, Lodi, Milan, Monza, Pavia and Varese in Lombardy.  Only milk produced in such provinces may be used to produce and grant Gorgonzola cheese a DPO certification, ensuring its authenticity from the very raw material.

A healthy feed production and the high hygienic standards in consortium stalls make milk to be processed into "gorgonzola" a basic condition for such an important product.  Gorgonzola cheese is a very ancient cheese, though - just like many other traditional products - it is not provided with an official birth certificate. In return, many legends and hypothesis exist on its origins.  Some say Gorgonzola was first produced in the homonymous town near Milan, in the year of our Lord 879.

On the contrary, some other say that it was first produced in Pasturo nella Valsassina, a place rich in dairy tradition which natural caves, provided with a constant average temperature of 6-12°C allow a perfect making of Gorgonzola as well as several other cheeses.  Gorgonzola's first name was 'stracchino di Gorgonzola', to be better defined later with the synonym "green stracchino". It was produced with autumn milking, when cows returned from mountain pastures, together with other cheese types processed by means of other blue-mould fungi throughout the Alps territory. However, Gorgonzola was the most renown production and trading place for centuries.  Though slowly compared to other cheeses, Gorgonzola constantly spread in both Lombardy and Piedmont: Pavia and Novara joined Milan and Como areas in the production of Gorgonzola.

The area to be defined by the 1955 and 1977 Decrees was thus already operating as a zone of production and maturing of Gorgonzola cheese, which designation is now protected.  From the beginning of 1900s on, Gorgonzola's success has been growing - especially abroad - with an export record of more than 100,000 quintals/year to Great Britain, France and Germany; Britons prefer white, soft, slightly spicy Gorgonzola, while the French and Germans expressly request blue-veined, strong Gorgonzola, the so-called "two-curds cheese".  Immediately after the war a new technique was implemented: 'one-curd' processing.  This new production system replaced the previous, empirical procedures, which were significantly more expensive as well as more hygienically and qualitatively inconsistent.  This unexpected success caused an imitation rush in other countries such as Austria, Germany, Poland and France itself: blue-veined cheeses with various degrees of spiciness were sold everywhere.

Grana Padano

Grana Padano: from milk to cheese, selecting raw materials

One of the keys to Grana Padano’s distinctive organoleptic properties is the milk used to make it, which, in turn, is linked to the cattle fodder.

The Production Disciplinary issued by Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Grana Padano permits a limited range of foodstuffs in that a broader selection would be unsuitable for the production of top quality milk.

Today, stable crops in some areas of Mantua are being farmed alongside rotational crops, including alfalfa, which is considered to be one of the best fodders available.

Over the years, summer and autumn cover crops have been added, and today maize is one of the most common crops grown for animal fodder across the Paduan Plain. In some cases, dairy cattle are only fed on unified, whose components must also comply with the Production Disciplinary issued by Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Grana Padano.

Organoleptic properties

Grana Padano is a semi-fat hard cheese which is cooked and ripened slowly. It is produced by curdling the milk of cows that are fed on green and dried forages. The cows are milked twice a day, the milk is left to stand, and then partially creamed. It is produced all year round.

Shape: cylindrical, slightly convex or almost straight sides, flat faces with a thin rind.
Sizes: 35 to 45 cm in diameter; the sides range from 15 to 18 cm in height, which may vary in accordance with the conditions and production techniques.
Weight: 24 to 40 kg per cheese wheel. Minimum cheese wheel weight is 24 kg.
External appearance: dark colour, slightly oily.
Structure colour: white or straw yellow.

Typical aroma and flavour: fragrant, delicate.
Structure: fine, grainy, radial fracture into slivers
Holes: just visible.
Rind thickness: 4 to 8 mm.
Ripening: the cheese is ripened by storing it in a natural environment at 15 to 22° C.
Resistance to ripening: 1 - 2 years.

Use: table and grating.
Dry substance fat: 32% minimum.

Production areas: the provinces of Alessandria, Asti, Cuneo, Novara, Torino, Vercelli, Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Mantova to the left of the River Po, Milan, Pavia, Sondrio, Varese, Trento, Padova, Rovigo, Treviso, Venice, Verona, Vicenza, Bologna to the right of the River Reno, Ferrara, Forti, Piacenza and Ravenna.

For kind concession of the    © Consorzio per la tutela del Formaggio Grana Padano

Texts and photos are published with express Authorization of the Consortium given to Punto Italiano Co., Ltd.                 Reproduction, also partial, of texts, marks and photos is prohibited and constitutes a violation.

Montasio

If you are still seeking the real flavor of cheese, ask for Montasio.

It is guaranteed by the European Union, one of the few products awarded with  the special D.O.P. qualification (Protected Denomination of Origin).

In fact, a cheese like Montasio must be made in compliance with some precise requirements.

The production area, which is strictly identified by Friuli, the East Veneto in the provinces of Belluno and Treviso and some areas of the provinces of Padua and Venice.

Then, fresh milk and a very accurate monitoring of the quality of the raw material and its progressive transformation process.

This process includes the three ageing periods: Fresh Montasio, Semi-aged, Very  old. The tecnology: a gentle technology, that favors the slow formation of the product and reinforces its nutritional characteristics.

The branding of cheese, with the trade mark of the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Montasio ("Consortium for the Protection of Montasio cheese"), guaranteeing its origin and the observance of all the characteristics stipulated in the regulations.

These factors, all together, are the best safeguard of the origin and the uniqueness of Montasio cheese.

For Montasio cheese, shape and substance are one and the same thing.. This cheese has a high and balanced nutritional content: 36% water, 32-34% fat and 24-26% protein.

 http://www.formaggiomontasio.net/inglese/text/consortium.htm

Mozzarella

DISTRIBUTOR OF:

GENNARO DAIRY PRODUCTS 

Parmigiano Reggiano

Place of Origin: Parmigiano-Reggiano is strictly bound to its place of origin. Both the production of milk and its transformation into cheese take place in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna to the west of the Reno River and Mantua to the east of the Po River.

The secret of such goodness originates in the place of origin, in the natural feed, and in the high quality milk with no additives. During the long aging process, natural fermenting agents in the milk give the cheese its particular flavor and texture, in other words, its typicality.

It is wise for the private consumer, uninitiated into the secrets of cheese making, to become familiar with the terms in which we define Parmigiano-Reggiano.

The cheese must be aged for a period no less than 12 months and must have the markings for identification on the rind: pin-dot writing, the dairy code, the month and year of production, the fire-marked oval brand of the Consorzio.

It is of paramount importance to check that the pin-dot writing is not covered by oblique lines. These are stamped on the cheese which does not have sufficient qualitative characteristics to be recognised for the designation of origin Parmigiano-Reggiano.

The cheese however assumes its full and typical characteristic qualities only after a period of ageing which ranges from 18 to 24 months. The straw-coloured appearance of Parmigiano-Reggiano indicates that the milk used in its preparation has come from cattle fed on fresh fodder. The colour varies between a pale and a deep yellow straw shade, and it is always uniform throughout the cheese. Another typical feature is its "scale" structure. Internally, the matured product forms long thin flakes radiating from, or converging towards, the centre. The internal mass tends to be mellow soft minutely granulated, and dotted with barely visible holes. Although these traits remain constant, it is still possible to detect differences between individual cheeses. As is the case with any artisan product, each cheese has a touch of individuality.

Age: the year of production or "vintage" is shown in figures in two places on the side of the cheese having the requirements of the standards;

The degree of ageing: while this is closely related to the age of the cheese, and expert can infer it from its fragrance, and internal consistency. In the course of ageing, Parmigiano-Reggiano acquires a delicious creamy quality, which "melts in the mouth";

Organoleptic characteristics: flavour and fragrance are quite characteristic and unmistakable;

Internal structure: this presents a radial convergence from the periphery towards the centre of the form. When a matured cheese is cut according to good trade practice, it splits "open" in a straight line or slight curve;

Colour: the "body" of the cheese is a uniform straw hue, which can vary from pale to deep yellow;
 
Consistency: this depends mainly on the degree of maturing granular texture, with the typical presence of crystals composed mainly by the aminoacid tyrosine. This indicates that the cheese has been aged for a proper time;

The rind or crust: in its natural formation, it is integral, has a healthy appearance, of an old gold shade and a thickness of about 6 millimetres.

Weight: the average cheese weighs from 33 to 40 Kgs.

Pecorino Romano

Pecorino Romano is beyond doubt one of the oldest cheeses in existence.

It was already around in the first century A.D. and is mentioned by the Roman agronomist Lucius Moderatus Columella whose Latin treatise De Re Rustica contains some tips on its manufacture.

Pecorino Romano certainly originated in the region of Latium and formed part of the daily rations for the legionaries of ancient Rome.

Nowadays, more than 300,000 quintals of the cheese are produced annually, mostly in Sardinia.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the pressures of increasing consumer demand and the existence of an established tradition in Sardinia of making cheese from sheep's milk prompted some of the major manufacturers in Latium to relocate their activities to the island.

They brought with them their master cheese-makers and salters who were to hand down the secrets of their trade to the islanders.

Although there have been substantial improvements in quality and important advances in manufacturing technology, Pecorino Romano is still made today according to the original recipe.

It is produced exclusively from the fresh milk of sheep raised on the plains of Latium, Sardinia and the province of Grosseto, and curdled using lamb rennet.

The taste is aromatic and pleasantly sharp.

The sharpness depends on the period of maturation which varies from five months for a table cheese to at least eight months for a grating cheese.

Pecorino Sardo

Pecorino Sardo is a relatively recent product from a region where the art of cheese-making dates back many centuries.

This cheese obtained its certification of designated origin from the Italian state in 1991 and the more prestigious European DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) certification in July 1996. Pecorino Sardo is a traditional cylindrical, semi-cooked hard cheese that is sold either as a "sweet" or a "ripened" product.

It is soft if sweet, hard if ripened.

The area in which both versions are made (and where the hard version is ripened to maturity) encompasses the entire administrative region of Sardinia.

Provolone

It is certain that Provolone originated in southern Italy, but a lack of agreement among authorities on the subject means it is impossible to be definite about the precise region.

The term "Provolone" does not appear until the end of the last century, around the same time as the production of the cheese moved northwards and the cheese assumed its currently larger size.

Provolone Val Padana is a semi-hard whole cow's milk cheese with a smooth rind.

It comes in a variety of forms and may be shaped like a salami, a melon, a cone or a pear; it may also have a spherical knob on the top.

The taste varies from sweet to sharp depending on the type of rennet used in curdling.

Veal rennet will yield a sweet cheese; lamb or kid rennet will yield one with a sharper taste.

The minimum ripening period is one month, and the maximum may exceed one year.

Provolone Val Padana is made throughout the provinces of Cremona, Brescia, Verona, Vicenza, Rovigo, Padua and Piacenza, and in some parts of the provinces of Bergamo, Mantua, Milan and Trento.