The Dop Montasio Cheese: the peaks of taste

The Montasio cheese belongs to the big family of the mountain cheese. It was born around 1200 in the valleys of the Julian and the Carnic Alps thanks to the patience and brightness of the Benedictine Monks, it is produced in Friuli Venezia Giulia and in all the areas of the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia and Trieste and in Veneto as well, in the areas of the provinces of Treviso and Belluno and partially in the province of Padua and Venice too. The Consortium for the protection of the Montasio Cheese is responsible with checking its trading and its

production aiming at successfully promoting this product. The Consortium supports this specific sector, it checks the working, it analyses the samples, it runs the research activities and it supervises the final selling of this product in order to protect the consumers mainly regarding the health and hygiene regulations, the legal use of the brand and the proper use of the identification of origin. If you want to get further information about the Consortium’s activities and the Montasio’s features you can visit the website www.montasio.com.

An excellent product for your mouth

The definition of the Montasio cheese has been registered and protected since 12 June 1996 at the European Union as a Protected Indication of Origin product. It represents the Alpes, the Friuli Venezia Giulia and Eastern Veneto, three worlds that make this great cheese thanks to their nature, their landscapes and their history. It’s a wonder for your mouth, a masterpiece of taste, a special lactose-free semi-hard cheese featured

by a soft, delicate, balanced taste. It’s featured by three different types of maturing steps that give it different shades of taste. It can be fresh, it can be seasoned for 60 or 120 days, its taste is soft and delicate, its dough is pale yellow, its surface is smooth and delicate. It can be mid-seasoned or fully seasoned for more than 10 months and it can also be very seasoned for more than 18 months, very tasty and perfect to be grated.

The production

The history of its production is related to the development of the production techniques that keep the idea of processing untouched. The milk is turned into the cheese by using some techniques that don’t damage the original microbial flora. That’s why the raw milk is used since it’s fresh milk that hasn’t been treated. In order to enable the growing of the milk enzymes that feature the cows from these areas that are fed with the local hey, a low-acid insertion is used. It is made by brewing the milk after a low temperature pasteurization. This classic technology implies two different milking phases and the evening removal of the cream from the milk. Then the milk is put into the heaters by adding

more milk up to a temperature of 32-34 degrees by adding the rennet as well. After half an hour of coagulation the jelly-like dough is cut by making little grains that look like the rice grains. Then you move on to the third phase that implies the heating at the temperature of 44-46 degrees. The main step is the off-fire baking or levelling to obtain the proper hardening then after around half an hour the cheese rolls are brought out by using some specific cloths that are laid on some moulds that print the origin trademark, the production date and the dairy. Then the cheese rolls are pressed and brined for 48 hours, the salt is added and they are put in the storehouses to mature.

An ever-lasting taste

There are many different ways to taste the Montasio cheese. You just have to follow your imagination to enjoy it. A piece of cheese with bread is the classical way to enjoy its taste or with the fruit too, it’s a light and tasty match. It’s a very good alternative for your break in the office or at lunch break with salad. You can taste some small pieces of cheese and drink a good red wine or a glass of white sparkling wine. The

very seasoned one is great if you great it on the pasta There are many recipes that can be prepared by using the Dop Montasio cheese like the filled gnocchi with the leek cream or a spinach quiche, the pears au gratin, the green “tortelli” with the balsamic vinegar, the soups and so on. If you want to discover all the recipes related to this wonderful cheese you can visit the website www.montasio.com.