CHEESE FROM VENETO
To tell i cheeses from Veneto for the collective storytelling project Tasting cheese arrives Andrea Dei Rossi, Ais sommelier and Onaf taster from the province of Venice.
Andrea is passionately dedicated to the domestic production of cheeses and manages the Facebook page Cheese and wine.
We asked him what his preferences are for cheeses, and here are his answers.
– What is the cheese in your area to which you are most attached for sentimental reasons and why?
«I feel attached to Grana Padano Dop because as a child and for many years I ate it in kilos, crusts included, as a snack before or after dinner (reminds me of home evenings, therefore my family of origin)».
– Which cheese do you prefer to eat "absolute"? And which one do you prefer to use in gastronomic preparations?
«I love tastes more, the smells and aromas decided in the cheeses, so I find more satisfaction in tasting formaggi stagionati from which we can see the whole chain, from feeding the animal to the place of seasoning or aging.
I love to use all the cheeses in the preparations, dalla Casatella Trevigiana DOP in risotto with Piave aged maybe grated in a spaghetti with duck ragout, or as an end of meal combining cheeses and jams ».
CHEESE FROM VENETO
by Andrea Dei Rossi
There are eight DOP cheeses from Veneto (Asiago, Casatella Trevigiana, Grana Padano, Montasio, Monte Veronese, Piave, Provolone Valpadana and Taleggio cheese), and they are very interesting and diversified in flavors even within the same type, in a sort of vertical of taste.
How can this happen for example for the Piave DOP (produced in the province of Belluno).
Piave is produced in three types: Fresco, with maturation of 20-60 giorni; Mezzano, da 60 a 180 giorni; Old, oltre 180 giorni.
The Old Man can be Old Gold Selection when it matures over 12 months e Old Reserve when it matures over 18 mesi. In this way, it passes from sweeter and more delicate scents and aromas to more marked and pungent sensations with increasing seasoning.
Another great DOP of the Veneto region that is widely used in Friuli is the Montasio DOP.
The possibilities are four: Fresco, minimo 60 giorni; semi-matured, minimo 4 mesi; Seasoned, minimo 10 mesi; Stravecchio, minimo 18 mesi.
In addition to the different consistencies of pasta and rind, the evolution from a fresh lactic is also interesting in this case (butter, yogurt) to a more cooked lactic (melted butter) up to roasted and more pungent notes where you can perceive the essence of pasture with a very concentrated cheese.
Il Monte Veronese DOP it is produced in Lessinia.
Semi-cooked strong-tasting table cheese, it is found in the typology whole milk oppure d’allevo if partially skimmed milk is used.
Based on maturation, is distinguished in mezzano (da 90 days and up to a year) and vecchio (with seasoning of at least one year).
Excellent cheese at the end of the meal to combine with fruit and jams, which I highly recommend.
Between Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali of the Veneto, I present you the Bastard of the mountain pasture.
The Bastardo del Grappa d 'alpeggio represents, together with Morlacco, the symbol of the rediscovery of the piedmont cheese tradition with its timeless flavor and its unmistakable taste.
Semi-hard and semi-cooked cheese, compact and quite grainy with a straw yellow color.
Sweet taste, savory and persistent, taste and aroma with strong notes of cooked lactic, herbaceous, fungal and animal (stable).
Seasoning can be greater than one year. The production area is the Massif del Grappa Area.
Its history dates back to the 1800s. Morlacco was mainly produced on the foothills, but when the environmental conditions changed as the seasons progressed, the cheesemakers tried to produce a different cheese, inspired by the processing of Asiago d'Allevo or Montasio. It is called "Bastardo" precisely because it is neither, but it was a hybrid of experiences handed down and dairy techniques.
“Bastardo”, in reality, because sometimes a little goat's milk was also added to cow's milk.
Andrea Dei Rossi - Cheese and Wine
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