After a year of waiting, our cheesemakers have driven their herds from the mountains all the way up to the alpeggio pastures to produce unique seasonal aromatic cheeses.
At the beginning of July, in some parts of the Italian mountains, the long-awaited first act of the 'transumanza', the ancient UNESCO-listed custom of moving herds and shepherds to the high altitudes (over 2 000 metres above sea level) of lush, pure alpeggio pastures full of a variety of herbs, where they spend the whole summer grazing and making cheese, before the second act - the ceremonial descent into the valley - takes place in September.
The milk from these pastures is very nutritious, fatty and beautifully fragrant. The animals spend their days out in the fresh air, grazing stress-free on aromatic mountain herbs, which are a little different in each meadow. Each form of cheese is literally an explosion of flavours and aromas, and each time it tastes a little different. Moreover, the milk does not have to travel anywhere difficult, it is processed directly after milking in the mountain malga sheds and is not pasteurised in order to keep it 'alive' and full of health-giving substances. Production is traditionally carried out by hand, so cheesemakers can only produce a few moulds a day, which are left to mature for several weeks or months (depending on the type of cheese). In the autumn, a very small quantity of these unique cheeses, labelled d'alpeggio or di malga, goes on sale, usually sold out by Christmas, and another year of waiting impatiently for the pastures to turn green again.
In autumn, you can taste several cheeses made from alpine milk in our Deli in Chiswick:
Vezzena di Lavarone Caseificio Vezzena
Cheese made from the milk of cows grazing on the plateau at an altitude of 1 400 m around the shepherd's huts of Millegrobbe and Krojer above the town of Lavarone in Trentino. It is matured for at least 12 months, during which time it is regularly turned and brushed with linseed oil.
Castelmagno Tino Paiolo
The king of Piedmontese cheeses, produced in the last few pastures around Castelmagno in Piedmont. Thanks to a special production technique lasting 5 days, where the cheese mass is cut and re-formed several times, it has a crumbly texture that is perfect for flavouring dishes.
Fontina Jotaz
A famous cow's cheese from the Valle d'Aosta, which can be used both cold and to make Valdostani fondue. The Jotaz family make it from the milk of their 60 cows at more than 2 000 m in the Ollomont valley and produce only six moulds a day.
Bettelmatt Alpe Regina
A cheese made from cow's milk and matured for two months, which has been produced between the Valle Antigorio and Val Formazza at an altitude of around 2 200 metres since at least the 13th century. Today, only 8 cheesemakers make it!
Bagòss La Malga del Re
Lombard cheese flavoured with saffron from the pastures above the pithy town of Bagolino at around 2 000 m. It is aged for at least 12 months and is brushed with linseed oil throughout that time.
Nostrale La Meja
Cow's milk cheese produced by the Colombero family in the La Meja mountain hut in the Piedmontese Valle Maira at 2 086 m. They produce only 120 moulds of this cheese per season, which is matured for 35 days to 1 year.
La Servaja goat cheese
Variously matured goat's cheeses from Gian Vittorio Porasso, who herds and makes the cheeses during the summer on the Paraloup mountain farm in the Piedmontese Valle Stura at 1 360 m.