Local cheeses

Some of the most characteristic elements of our valleys are the cheeses produced at the dairy farms or on the mountain pastures, which together with the excellent local butter exist as quality ingredients used to prepare typical local dishes. The maturing process is important and for many cheeses it represents the longest and most delicate phase. Cheeses with a unique taste and flavour are obtained thanks to the time they spend maturing in the crotti and the secrets of those who traditionally do this job. Each farmer works following his own methods at the dairies and on the mountain pastures. This fact enables us to have cheeses of different appearance and taste, each with some seemingly small but significant characteristics which make it unique.

Cheeses from Dairy
Called "dairy" because these cheeses are produced in dairies at the bottom of the valley. The "latteria" is produced in the period between October and May and it can be whole or partially skimmed. The grease appears to have a slight eye-shaped and whitish cheese. Taste changes according to the level of maturity: when the cheese is young (60-70 days) it is soft and delicate, rich with the smell of fresh milk. The longer the cheese matures, the more intense the flavour becomes, with a quite sharp aftertaste. The "medium fat cheese" also known as "magnocca", is a clear, open cheese. It is more substantial to the palate than the "fat cheese", less doughy but softer. Maturing provides it with a unique flavor, very intense, and a sharp aftertaste; the cheese tends to become hard and take on a more intense colour.

Valtellina Casera D.O.P.
The latest news about the first diaries dates back to 1500 and attests the old origins of this cheese. Valtellina Casera is produced with semi-skimmed cow´s milk. The milk from two or more hand milking processes is semi-skimmed by rising. Typically, the milk given in the evening is left to stand in basins and skimmed afterwards, while the milk of the morning after is added full. Milk is taken from the food of cows that must be made mainly by natural essences and herbs from the production zone delimited before. The cheese is characterized by a tight structure with a fine and diffused presence. When sliced the colour is variable, from white to straw-yellow, according to the level of maturity. The taste of Valtellina Casera is sweet, characteristic with a dainty note of dried fruit and it becomes stronger with the passing of the maturing.

Alp Cheese - Bitto D.O.P.
The alp cheese is typical of our valleys and is produced in the high mountain pastures during the summer. Animals can enjoy a completely natural and genuine food: in fact they are let free on the range where they can breathe healthy air and nourish with the green grass of our mountains. It is just this food which gives a straw-yellow colour, a very intense smell and taste to our cheese. Production is totally handmade and the processing foresees the use of raw and whole bovine milk. With ageing the straw-yellow colour becomes deeper and the cheese with a thin openness becomes strong and takes on a sharp and aromatic taste. During the last years alp cheeses have been recognized by the "Bitto Cheese Cooperative" as D.O.P. (Protected Designation of Origin). In Valtellina Bitto cheese has ancient origins. According to some historians, breeding began in this area when a few Celtic clans, chased away out from the plain by the Romans, found a refuge there. The name of Bitto seems to be date back to the Celtic word "bitu" which means "perpetual". In order to obtain the mark this cheese must go by existing rules: it must be produced exclusively in the upper are with the use of whole cow´s milk deriving from conventional breeds in the production zone. Goats milk can be added to this milk, not exceeding 10%. The cow food from which milk derives must be made up mainly of natural essences and herbs that might be fed hay, from the production zone previously indicated.

Goat´s cheese "I Mascarpin"

Farmers of Valchiavenna begin the processing of goat´s milk between January and February. With a small quantity of milk the making of "mascarpin" begins, soft and mellow ricotta cheeses with a taste that becomes stronger during the summer, thanks to the permanence of goats in the mountain pastures. Throughout the entire procedure, in order to facilitate the product preservation it is used to smoke "mascarpin" which takes on a golden colour provided to ricotta cheeses a strongly unique look and a more intense taste. Moreover, the cheese is produced on the mountain alp which can be exclusively of goat´s milk or with a small addition of bovine milk. They are small-sized rounds with a strong and particular taste.