Taleggio (cheese)
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| origin | Italy ( Bergamo , Brescia , Como , Cremona , Lecco , Lodi , Milano , Pavia , Treviso , Novara ) |
| milk | Cow / whole milk |
| treatment | Raw milk or pasteurized |
| Cheese group | Soft cheese with red smear |
| Measure / weight | square, side length 18–20 cm, height 5–8 cm / 1.8–2.2 kg |
| Ripening time | about 40 days |
| Fat i. Tr. | 48% |
| Calorific value | 1,230 kJ / 100 g 294 kcal / 100 g |
| protein | 18 g / 100 g |
| Fat absolutely | 25 g / 100 g |
| calcium | 460 mg / 100 g |
| phosphorus | 360 mg / 100 g |
| magnesium | 22 mg / 100 g |
| Vitamin A | 450 micrograms / 100 g |
| Vitamin B2 | 280 micrograms / 100 g |
| Vitamin B6 | 131 micrograms / 100 g |
| Vitamin E. | 4450 micrograms / 100 g |
| Certification | DOP since May 10, 1993 PDO since July 1, 1996 |
Taleggio is a northern Italian soft cheese with a protected designation of origin . It has 48 percent fat in the dry matter .
history
Recipes based on Lombard cheese have been handed down by Marcus Tullius Cicero and Cato the Elder , and Gaius Plinius Secundus described the cheese art of the Orobbi , as the inhabitants of the Bergamo valleys were called in ancient times . The Taleggio in its current form and under this name was possibly produced in caves in Val Taleggio near Bergamo in Lombardy before the 10th century . Documents from the 13th century have survived that show that this cheese was traded, making it one of the oldest soft cheeses. It was originally made in autumn and winter, when the cows were tired (ital. Stracche ) from the cattle drive, which is why the cheese, like the Gorgonzola , was known as stracchino . Giacomo Casanova allegedly decided to write an encyclopedia of cheeses after tasting the Taleggio in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano in 1763 . The work was never finished because Casanova was too busy with other occupations. With the growing popularity of the Taleggio , production was expanded into the Po Valley . In 1979, several manufacturers joined forces to form the Consortium for the Protection of the Taleggio ( Consorzio di Tutela del formaggio Taleggio ), which today has 97 members and has been responsible for monitoring production and trade since 1981.
Manufacturing
In the production of Taleggio as DOP cheese, the original artisanal tradition has largely been preserved. First, the acidified milk is curdled with rennet from milk calves. A quarter of an hour after adding the rennet, the jelly is broken with a cheese harp and cut to the size of hazelnuts. The curd is filled into metal molds the size of what will become cheese. While it is setting and solidifying, it is turned several times and marked with a die. The loaves are salted by hand or dipped in brine. For ripening, they are stored on wooden shelves in ripening rooms, in which the conditions of the original caves, some of which are still in use today (temperature only slightly more than 5 ° C, humidity over 90%, typical microflora ) are reproduced. About once a week during the six to ten weeks of ripening, the cheeses are washed with a sponge with salt water and red smear cultures to protect the cheese from drying out and to allow the typical pink to orange-red rind with characteristic greenish and gray mold spots to develop .
properties
The rind of young cheese is quite thin, thicker and wavy as it ages and should not show any cracks. The pale yellow dough is smooth with a few small holes and melts on the tongue.
Today the cheese is produced both as factory cheese from pasteurized milk and as raw milk farmer's cheese , whereby the factory cheese has a lighter texture and a milder taste. First-class raw milk variants have an extremely spicy aroma that is reminiscent of raisins , nuts and lemons , paired with a subtle stable odor. The taste is pleasantly spicy and fruity with nuances of roasted nuts.
use
As a small meal, it is served with bitter salads such as radicchio or rocket . It can also be used in warm dishes, it melts well and goes well with risotto or polenta .
