THE CHEESE

THE CHEESE

This cheese comes in a cylindrical form with flat faces measuring 15- 25 cm in diameter, 12- 20 cm circumference and weight ranging from 2 to 7 kg .

As for the fresher forms, the rind is thin and a reddish yellow colour, whilst the more matured forms have a wrinkly aspect and are a brownish-ochre. It is a very crumbly cheese without holes and is ivory white, tending towards ochre-yellow with streaks of greenish-blue in the more matured forms. The presence of streaks is due to the development of special moulds, belonging to the pennicillium species, which characterise the "erborinati" (green cheeses) or blue cheeses. "Erborinatura", a word that comes from the word "erborin" in the Lombardy dialect and means parsley, develops naturally in Castelmagno cheese as it matures, without any need of specific inoculate moulds.

Its delicate taste gets stronger and sharper as the maturing season goes on. Authenticity of the product is guaranteed by the mark embossed on each form and stamped at the centre of the characteristic label recalling an Occitan cross.

The milk utilised is obtained by mixing the milk of two milkings, the first of which is kept at a low temperature and skimmed if necessary for surfacing or centrifugation. Coagulation is carried out on raw heated milk in steel boilers up to 35-38° C using liquid rennet. The curd is then broken down to the size of a hazelnut (but in some cases can reach the size of a grain of rice), left to rest under serum for a period ranging from 5 to 30 minutes and, lastly, extracted and wrapped in cloths where they are left to strain for about 24 hours. At the end of this period, the curd is cut into slices and immersed in steel or plastic tanks containing the serum of the processing of that day or of previous processing. The curd is usually left in this serum for 2 or 3 days after having been pulled out and chopped. This chopped curd is then salted with coarse salt, put into plastic or steel moulds and pressed for 24-48 hours in order to facilitate discharge. Maturing, which takes place on natural premises or in cool and humid refrigerators, lasts at least two months.

Terre di Castelmagno - Via Comunale 11 - 12020 Castelmagno - P.IVA 02908320043