Some Popular And Recognizable Italian Cheeses

By Frank Zaftra

There are so many types of Italian cheeses that you may not have heard of all of them, but everyone has their favorite. The artisanal Italian cheese will have a specific protected designation of origin that follows EU law. This states that in order to have that designation the cheese was made from ingredients form that area and following very specific methods for creating the cheese.

One of the most famous Italian chesses is Asiago. The texture of this cheese will differ depending on its age and very fresh Asiago is smooth and aged Asiago is crumbly. Asiago can only be made in the town of Asiago which is in the Veneto region of Italy. This cheese is frequently used in sauces, pasta, soups, salads or sliced on sandwiches and panini.

A soft mild cheese that is quite well known is Bel Paese. This cheese was specifically designed to be a more delicate style of cheese. It is made in many parts of the world but was first produced just outside or Milan. It has a very short aging time of up to 2 months and is made primarily from cow's milk. The name Bel Paese means Beautiful country and is taken from the name of a famous Stoppani book of the same name.

A fun bite sized cheese is Bocconcino. This cheese comes in small balls that are made of unripened cheese. This unripened cheese does not have a rind and is typically made of buffalo milk. Today some bocconcino is also made of cow's milk. In order to keep the cheeses texture, which is spongy, bocconcino is packaged in water or whey.

Another type of cheese made from water buffalo milk is called burrata. This cheese has two different layers and is made of mozzarella and cream. The out layer of the cheese is firm and made of only mozzarella while the inside is much softer and is made of a mixture of mozzarella and cream. It originates from the region or Apulia and is considered an artisanal cheese. You will want to eat this cheese within a day as the flavors will begin to decrease.

A cheese from Sicily that carries a protected designation of origin is Caciocavallo. This is a cheese made of sheep and cow milk and has a flavor very similar to provolone. This cheese is traditionally shaped in a tear drop form and the name actually translates to cheese on horseback. This name may be due to the fact that the very first of its kind was made using mare's milk.

A very old cheese that was a favorite of Michelangelo and Pope Clement XIV is casciotta d'Urbino. There are many different types of casciotta and casciotta d'Urbino is made in central Italy of cow and sheep milk. This is a rinded cheese that has a yellow or white interior and a very mild flavor.

A cheese that is typically used in fondues of veloutees is castelmagno. This cheese is half fat and classified as semi hard. You use whole cow's milk and the cow must eat fresh hay from a pasture. Castelmagno goes particularly well when paired with honey or fortified wines. - 30543

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