Italian cheeses are known worldwide as some of the best you can get. In America we love our pizza and our sandwiches, but they wouldn’t be the same without the Italians and their cheeses. In fact, although most of us are quite familiar with three or four of the most common types of cheese they make, the fact is, there are about 400 varieties of cheeses they make.
From Sicily to Tuscany the Italians make some of the best parmigiano and provolone in the world. Their Mozzarella is a household name. And again, these don’t even scratch the surface of the number of cheeses they actually make. They use goat’s milk, sheep’s milk, buffalo milk, and cow in their processes. All their cheeses have great texture and fragrance, and are good for both shredding and cooking.
The Italians really take pride in the quality of their cheeses. One way to tell if it’s quality, if you happen to be shopping for cheese, is to check for it’s classification. This can be PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) or IGT (Protected Geographic Indication). This is their stamp of quality assurance, and it’s the same one used for wine.
Italian cheeses are some of the best because of the perfecting of their technique. If you begin to study these cheeses, you’re almost sure to hear about their famous ‘Bel Paese’. The word itself means ‘beautiful country’ in Italian. And this cheese is one of the most famous and popular ones to ever come out of Italy. It’s place of origin was in Milan, in ‘Melzo’. But now it’s made for the most part in Lombardy. It’s cow’s milk cheese intended for table use, but cooks up just as well.
The Italians are definitely passionate about their cheese. They have made it up in the Alpine mountains, where they perfected their methods. It was an isolated affair, but what they brought off the mountain was literally gold made from milk. Caves were used to keep things cold since the idea of refrigeration back then was just a new concept.
Some of their other techniques are still used today. The tools have remained the same as it has always been. Salt, water, oil, tiny hammers, cutting boards, and wooden shelves are still used in their production methods. Their three basic ingredients for beginning and making a cheese, are salt, rennet, and some kind of milk. They would exchange the types of milk to produce a different cheese.
Regardless of what type of cheese they’re making, the starting point is the milk. When all is said and done, cheese is coagulated milk. In the case of Ricotta, cream is used along with milk whey. The Italians commonly use four types of milk, which come from the cow, the goat, the sheep, and the buffalo. But some types of cheeses can also be made with other milks, like camel, or yak, or reindeer.
Learning about tasty Italian cheeses can be a really fun study. Many people go through life enjoying the benefits of this great Italian craft, without ever knowing about the how’s, where’s, or why’s. You can go online and learn much about the processes, like how long to heat at what temperature, etc. It really can be an eye opener if you’ve never read about it before. The Italians have their recipes down pat. And one thing you can’t argue with, is that the quality is definitely up to par.
Want to find out more about italian food, then visit Luigi DeMarco’s site on how to choose the best Italian cheeses for your needs.
