Taleggio DOP : ancient flavour

Taleggio: unmistakable taste

We all know it, Taleggio DOP (red writing) is a raw cheese that is produced with Italian cow's milk and pasteurized in the Taleggio DOP territory: in the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Lecco, Lodi, Milan, Pavia, and from the 1930s also in the Trevigiano (Veneto) and Novarese (Piedmont) areas.

It is a table cheese with a straw-white colored paste, homogeneous and compact, soft and melting on the palate with a marked proteolysis given by the maturation which lasts up to 60 days or more. Taleggio is defined as a "washed rind" cheese, since during maturation it is subjected to frequent sponging of salt and water to control the mold - fundamental for maturing - that develops on its rind. The consistency is soft, creamy on the palate and recalls the scents of the undergrowth, with a truffle aftertaste and good persistence.

Identikit of Taleggio PDO

• Type: raw cheese
• Shape: necessarily square
• Split colour: natural pink colour
• Crust texture: thin, soft
• Paste colour: straw white
• Paste consistency: compact inside, not chalky in the heart, soft in the part immediately under the rind
• Taleggio protection mark: imprinted on one of the two faces with the toll booth number

Taleggio: brief history

Initially widespread throughout Lombardy, probably already in the Middle Ages, this cheese was born in the homonymous Val Taleggio, located in the province of Bergamo. From the need of the inhabitants to conserve milk for a long period, the idea of ​​preserving it through the production of cheese, matured in caves or on farms, was born.

There are traces of its presence since pre-Roman times, in fact writings of Celtic tribes, established in the Lombardy mountains, have been found, which narrate the steps for the production of a square cheese obtained with cow's milk, a sort of ancestor of ours Taleggio cheese. In short, this ancient cheese has spanned the centuries, fascinating palates all over the world!

But it was in the 19th century, when Lombardy's bovine heritage began to expand, that a true territorial differentiation of cheeses began, moving the heart of Taleggio production towards the valleys between Bergamo and Lecco. To clarify, the term "Taleggio" officially appears for the first time in 1944 and is nothing other than the modern abbreviation of "stracchino Quartirolo della Val Taleggio". While, at the same time, the differentiation in the nomenclature is affirmed between the semi-mature low-fat cheese "stracchino" and the "quartirolo" - stracchino produced from September onwards, and, precisely, "Taleggio" - which undergoes minimal maturing of 35 days -.

Since 1996, Taleggio has received the DOP brand and wording, after an official recognition resulting from a specification that jealously and expertly preserves the characteristics of the ancient product. A product that is made manually, working with raw milk, sometimes curdling the milk without adding rennet, which follows a careful maturation which gives the classically square shape an almost brilliant orange color, a chalky paste in the heart and creamy in the under rind.

How to taste Taleggio

Taleggio DOP loves to pair with delicate products as it is an important cheese that tends to overpower the flavors due to its full and persistent taste. An important component of taleggio is the sensation of fatness it leaves in the mouth, together with a high aromaticity in taste and smell.

Lombards love to taste it pure, with yellow flour polenta or combined with mustards, pears or apples - perhaps with good bread and a glass of wine -. In the kitchen, however, Taleggio DOP is suitable for tasty appetizers, with crunchy croutons, for creaming risottos (with black truffle and walnuts), for flavoring pasta and gnocchi, for giving a boost to vegetables, embellishing focaccias and cakes savory, or serve as the star of the classic fondue that accompanies the meat.

Pairing with wine offers pleasant discoveries. Being a cheese with character, very fat and full-bodied, it is excellent paired with sweet, slightly sparkling, young red wines with a light note of tannin - such as Barbera d'Alba DOC - or with light beers .

Taddei and Bovì dairy

Our Taleggio DOP is produced by Caseificio Taddei which offers a processing of DOP cheese with the trademark of the Protection Consortium. A dairy company that over the years has specialized in the production and maturing of cheeses linked to the local tradition such as: Formaggella Bergamasca and Bigia , continuing to promote artisanal processing.

To enjoy, cook and love all the dairy traditions of Lombardy and beyond in a single box, discover the Cheese Box with a vast assortment of cheeses that can be easily purchased online which includes:

• 300 grams of Taleggio DOP written in Blue
• 300 grams of Taleggio DOP written in red
• 300 grams of Blutunt blue cheese
• 300 grams of Formaggella Bergamasca
• 300 grams of Salva Cremasco DOP