Northern Italian cheeses :

Like anywhere else in Italy, cheese has an important part in Northern Italian food.Without cheese no ravioli, gnocchi or macaroni, to name a few popular dishes.Also in risotto and soups is cheese self-evident.The best known cheese is Parmesan cheese from Lombardy, a cheese wich ripes for 1-2 years and is mostly served grated.In Italy you will always find a bowl of grated parmesan cheese on the table, together with salt, pepper, oil and vinegar.Italians usual eat 2 big meals a day, both consisting of pasta or soup, a meat dish and cheese or fruit.Cheese is even used in desserts of wich Tiramisú is the best known.

Some good Northern Italian cheeses :

Asiago :
A Cheddar-like cow's milk cheese from Trentino with a yellow interior and a pugnent flavor.When young, used as a table cheese; when aged, used for grating.
Bel Paese :
A semisoft cow's milk cheese with a pale interior and a mild creamy, fruity taste.Local varities are called: Bella Alpina, Bella Milano, Fior d'Alpe or Pastorella.
Fontina Val d'Aosta :
A cow's milk cheese with a dark gold crusty rind and a pale gold interior; a firm, dense testeure and a rich nutlike taste.
Gorgonzola :
A cow's milk cheese; soft, moist texture; white to straw color interior with blue-green mold; pugnent aroma; rich piquant flavor.
Grana Padana :
Is better known as Parmesan cheese.The original Parmesan cheese is Parmigiano Reggiano, a cow's milk cheese with a rich spicy taste.
Mascarpone :
Creme cheese from Lombardy, made from cow's milk; Is used in tiramisú.
Paglierini :
A delicious, soft cheese with a subtle aroma.A regional speciality from Piemonte.
Pannarone :
A white gorgonzola with a picquant,slightly bitter taste.
Pressato :
A descendant of the Asiago; has an elastic texture, a white to straw yellow color and a mild to piquant flavor; Is found locally in Lombardy and Basso Veneto.
Robiola :
A cremy cheese made of sheep or goat's milk.
Stracchino :
A soft mild cow's milk cheese from Lombardy.
Robiolino :
A soft cow's milk cheese; has a lovely, smooth and cremy exterior; the fresh type taste a little sourish; the more mature type is fuller and creamier.
Taleggio :
A buttery cow's milk cheese with a piquant flavor.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page