1. Udderly Italian
Seeng and Savoring Italy with Italian Cheese

2. Presented by The Cositutti Group
▪ Teachers, writers, taste travelers and Italian food entrepreneurs who
see and savor Italy differently
▪ Knowledgeable, passionate and forward thinking our Italian lifestyle
experts curate a collection of food products and handcrafted items
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of products to small producers and generational families both
traditional and innovative. With over 15+ years and 15,000+ miles
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3. Behind every cheese there is a meadow, of varying green under a varying sky . . .
There are different herds with their stalls; And transhumance;
There are secrets of works transmitted over the centuries - Italo Calvino
Each regional variety of cheese reflects each
Alpine pasture, each field of wildflowers; the
ash, leaves or hay used in ripening, the animals
and artisans who make it.

4. Italian Pecorino from Pienza
Every cheese has its own story and a cheese tasting is a great
way to learn about and appreciate the culinary and cultural
history of Italy.

5. A Cheesy Bit of History
▪ Cheese in Italy dates back to
ancient times
▪ The Etruscans were thought to
have a recipe for making
Parmigiano cheese
▪ Ancient cheese graters have been
found at the Monte Bibele
Etruscan- Celtic site near
Monterenzio (BO) dating from
the early 4th to 2nd century BC

6. Let Them Eat Cheese
▪ Boccaccio’s Decameron tells a
story of a “mountain made
entirely of grated Parmigiano
Reggiano cheese”
▪ On which “lived people who
did nothing but make
macaroni and ravioli and cook
them in capon broth”

7. Cheese-centric Italy
Over 500 Varieties of Cheese in Italy
▪ At almost every grocery store
in the States you can find
popular varieties of Italian
cheese like Mozzarella, Asiago,
Ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano
and Provolone
▪ We’ll talk about a few of these
but let’s try something
different
Americans Like Cheese and
Would Like to Taste More

8. Cheese “Made in Italy”
Cheese making in Italy often
involves small family farms or
communes (groups of friends
or co-operatives). Everything is
often done on site. They raise
the animals, milk the animals,
create the cheese, package it,
and send it away to be
consumed by fortunate folks
across the world.
All the people who work on the
farm also live on or near it.

9. Gastronomic Vocabulary of Italian Cheese
▪ Formaggio = Cheese
▪ Latte = Milk
▪ Caseificio = Dairy Farm, Cheese Factory,
Creamery
▪ Pecora = Sheep
▪ Cow = Vacca, Mucca
▪ Goat = Capra
▪ DOP/PDO = an acronym that symbolizes
a certification granted by the European
Union, giving products their “Protected
Designation of Origin” label. Such
certification guarantees that strict
methods of production are followed and
designates a “name-controlled” status
Italian Aging Cheesy Terms
Stagionato Hard Matured Seasoned
Ripe
Semi –
Stagionato
Semi-hard Young
Fresco Fresh
DOP cheese cannot be legally replicated outside of the
nation’s borders

10. Other D.O.P Foods Produced in Italy Besides Cheese
Include Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Prosciutto,
San Marzano Tomatoes, Ligurian Basil
D.O.P
• D.O.P laws are meant to preserve the integrity of traditional Italian food products
by insuring the flavor and quality
• Various markings, stamps, symbols and logos designate DOP products

11. D.O.P Labeling
Image Cited : Gusti d’italia

12. You’re in the D.O.P Zone
A governing body (Consortium) guarantees a specific zone
of production in which producers are subject by law to
preserve centuries old production methods that ensure the
quality of the product

13. Stravecchio
I Digress
There are other Italian products
that are labeled Stravecchio like
Stravecchio Branca, a 3-year aged
brandy made by Fernet Branca, an
Italian company that began in 1845
when a Milanese physician name
Branca and a Swedish pharmacist
named Fernet combined 27 herbs
and plants to create a treatment for
cholera. The 5th generation of the
Branca family continues to produce
this amaro (bitter) enjoyed in Italy
today as an aperitivo or digestivo.
Another aging term you might see is the
Italian word
Stravecchio
• Stravecchio cheeses are aged for 36
months
• In the Dolomiti Mountain region of
Northern Italy stra is the Ladino
translation of the word “very” or "to a
high degree"
• Vecchio is the Italian word for “old”
Stravecchiones are parms that are aged 4 or more years

14. ▪ As cheese ages the color,
appearance and taste will
change
▪ That’s good for cheese lovers
because as cheese ages it
creates new and interesting
flavor profiles and ways to use
and enjoy it
▪ Aging cheese often intensifies
the flavor and makes it more
complex

15. Why is Aged Cheese Good For You?
Cheese has 3 ingredients – milk,
salt and time
• Aged cheese contains high
concentrations of essential
nutrients like calcium,
phosphorus, zinc, vitamin
A, riboflavin, vitamin B12 ,
vitamin K (bone health)
and high-quality protein
• Higher probiotic content

16. The Blue Zones
▪ National Geographic writer and Emmy
award-winning documentarian Dan
Buettner travels the globe to discover the
secrets of longevity
▪ He writes about -The Blue Zones: Lessons
for Living Longer From the People Who’ve
Lived the Longest
▪ For the Sardinian population, this could a
diet of bread, wine and . . . Cheese
▪ The cheese, known as pecorino sardo, is
made from grass-fed sheep’s milk
resulting in a product high in Omega-3
fatty acids

17. Our Italian Cheese Plate
▪ Popular Pecorino
▪ Mozzarella di Bufala
▪ Addictive Burrata
▪ Grana Padano
▪ Montasio
▪ Gorganzola Dolce
▪ Parmigiano Reggiano

18. Pecorino
▪ Italian sheep’s milk cheese
▪ Pecorino Romano is the most widely
known pecorino cheese outside of
Italy
▪ One of the oldest cheeses in the
world, pecorino is dated as far back
as 2000 years
▪ A great pecorino cheese contains all
the layered scents and heady aromas
of the open pastures where the sheep
graze
▪ Taste and quality depends on the
sheep’s milk, the way the cheese is
preserved and aged
Sheep
Milk
Cheese
Pecorino
Romano
Pecorino
Toscano
Pecorino
Siciliano
Pecorino
Sardo

19. Pecorino Toscano . . . like languishing in a field of Tuscan
wildflowers
There are many reasons I like
Pecorino Toscano. It was the first
cheese I tasted in Italy at my
cousin Lidia’s apartment. She
served a young pecorino for
dessert with pears (le pere col
pecorino) and chestnut honey and I
immediately began a love affair
with a cheese that continues to
this day.
The milky, creamy texture and slightly tangy
flavor of a young Pecorino Toscano strengthens
and matures as it ages
▪ As part of an antipasto
▪ With honey, jam and fruit (especially pears
and figs)
▪ And when well-matured Pecorino Toscano is
widely used across Italy as an alternative to
Parmigiano Reggiano for grating over pastas
or soups
▪ Difficult to find in the States preferring to
remain under the Tuscan sun

20. Popular Pecorino in Italy
▪ Cacio al Tartufo - aged over fir planks, this
specialty Tuscan pecorino has an earthy finish
of black truffles and a subtle bite of herbs and
garlic
When I cannot find this cheese I drizzle
truffle honey over Pecorino Toscano
▪ Pecorino Affiento - inspired from a tradition
of conserving cheese under hay infused with
honey
▪ Pecorino Ginepro - a rubdown of balsamic
vinegar and olive oil and then a covering of
crushed juniper berries gives this specialty
pecorino from Emilia Romagna a woodsy,
herbal flavor with a hint of tanginess and a
speckled appearance

21. C’è mozzarella … e mozzarella —“There’s
mozzarella … and then there’s mozzarella”
Mozzarella comes in two forms
▪ One is made from cow’s milk fior di
latte (non DOP)
▪ The other is Mozzarella di Bufala
Campana DOP, which is made from
the milk of the water buffalo and is
considered the very best type you
can get
Domestic mozzarella is mostly from cow's milk

22. Gastronomic Nirvana
▪ Mozzarella fresca (mozzarella that has just
been made) can induce a state of almost
perfect contentment
▪ Stored either in water, brine or whey to
maintain its sharp white color and
freshness
▪ If refrigerated, it should be left out 30
minutes before eating

23. Addictive Burrata
▪ Besides the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana
DOP and fior di latte, there are other
Italian cheeses that are considered part of
the mozzarella family
▪ Burrata, made Puglia, is a buffalo
mozzarella with the addition of buffalo-milk
cream.
▪ The name “burrata” means “buttered”
in Italian
There are many delicious ways to eat
burrata. One is simply to cut it open and
drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, coarse
ground pepper and sea salt.

24. Grana Padano
• Italian cow’s milk cheese
• One of the country’s most popular
cheeses
• Named after the Padano Plains of
the Po River Valley
• The cheese must be produced
with milk from local cows fed with
at least 75% of locally produced
food, half of which from fresh
grass and hay
• The word “grana” refers to its
grainy texture
• Versatile for grating to antipasto
to dessert

25. Montasio
• Cow’s milk cheese
originating from the Friuli
Venezia Giulia and Veneto
provinces of Italy.
• Often compared with its
neighboring cheese, Asiago
• Originally a monastery
cheese dates back to the
13th century
• Aging time of 60 days up to
10 months

26. Gorgonzola Dolce
• Italian cow’s milk cheese
• From Italy’s Lombardy
region
• Named after the town of
Gorgonzola outside Milan,
this cheese dates to the
10th century
• Gorgonzola Dolce is
“sweeter”, milder and
creamier than aged
gorgonzola with a soft,
spreadable texture
• Supple and luxurious with
a tangy finish

27. Lidia’s Salsa al Gorgonzola
Our cousin Lidia uses Gorgonzola
Dolce to make a wonderful sauce
she serves with gnocchi.
Make just before serving.
The success of this sauce depends
on the sweet, creamy, buttery
texture of the Gorgonzola dolce
which is not the same as
Gorgonzola or blue cheese.
▪ 4 oz. of soft, fresh Gorgonzola Dolce cheese
▪ 1/3 cup milk
▪ 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
▪ ½ cup heavy cream
Soak the gorgonzola in milk for 15 minutes.
Warm the gorgonzola-milk mixture in a
saucepan with butter until the cheese melts and
is of a creamy consistency. If the sauce has been
sitting for awhile add cream to the sauce and
bring it up to medium heat.

28. Parmigiano Reggiano – the “king” of cheese
• The reigning cheese of Italy
• Can only be made in Reggio
Emilia, Modena and parts of
Bologna and Mantua
• Aged for a minimum of 16
months. Sweet, buttery and
nutty flavor intensifies with
age
• Authentic versions carry a
mark with the producer’s
registration number along
with the year and month of
production

29. What Makes Parmigiano Reggiano Parmigiano Reggiano?
A balance of many factors
including
• the quality of the pastures and
of the milk
• the artisanal production
methods that have remained
unchanged for seven centuries
• the natural aging process
• the absence of preservatives,
additives or coloring agents
• strict control of the D.O.P
Consortium

30. Heat branding Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
It’s Good To Be the King
Click here to watch the making of Parmigiano
Reggiano Cheese.

31. The Seal
To give consumers more
and clearer information
about the qualities of
Parmigiano-Reggiano
three stamps are in use
since 2007. These identify
the minimum maturity of
the cheese with three
strengths.
RED SEAL
Matured for more than 18 months
Features: Distinctive milk base, with
vegetable notes such as grass, cooked
vegetables and at times flowers and fruit.
SILVER SEAL
Matured for more than 22 months
Features: The flavor of this cheese is more
distinctive, with notes of melted butter,
fresh fruit and citrus fruits as well as
overtones of dried fruit. The cheese has a
balanced mild yet full-flavored taste, with
a crumbly, grainy texture.
GOLD SEAL
Matured for more than 30 months (extra-strong)
Features: This cheese, with the highest
nutritional values, has a drier, crumblier
and grainier texture. Its strong flavor and
notes redolent of spices and dried fruit
prevail.
.

32. Interesting Facts about Parmigiano Reggiano
▪ The natural rind of Parmigiano
Reggiano is edible and used to flavor
soups in Italy
▪ The crunchy texture of Parmigiano
cheese is from tiny salt crystals due to
the brine bath that the cheese is
soaked in
▪ Wheels can weigh up to 75lbs and
may need to be cut with a saw
▪ The trademark of the world’s most
famous cheese, which is still valid
today, was designated in 1612 by
Bartolomeo Riva, treasurer of the
Farnese estates of Duke Ranuzzio l
▪ Because of the high of calcium in
Parmigiano cheese, Russian
cosmonauts have brought the cheese
on space flights to combat bone loss
in space
▪ Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is so
valuable that trucks carrying the
cheese have been hijacked
▪ Parmesan (the cheese in the green
can) is an Americanized version of the
word parmigiano. In Italy
Parmiagiano Reggiano is aged for a
minimum of 10 months (typically 18)
and for as long as 4 years
▪ The standard for US curing time for
Parmesan is 6-10 months

33. Purchasing and Storing Cheese
▪ Buy smaller portions of cheese
▪ When storing cheese, it’s
important to let it breathe so it
can continue to develop without
drying out
▪ Wrap it first in wax paper to
maintain its flavor, then wrap it in
plastic or foil to prevent drying
▪ Change the wrapping every few
days and keep it in the vegetable
drawer, where the moisture is
beneficial for cheese

34. Handling Cheese
• Because cheese is a
biologically active living food,
wash your hands with soap
and water before handling and
avoid cross-contamination of
cheese flavors by cleaning
knives and cutting boards with
boiling water between
cuttings.

35. Grating Cheese
• I’m pretty old school
when it comes to grating
cheese. Our Nonna used
the small rough holes on a
big box grater
• A microplane grater gives
light, fluffy grated cheese,
but as an ingredient in
recipes and for a more
dense, thicker grated
cheese, the big box grater
is best
According to Cook's Illustrated, 1 oz. parmigiano cheese grated on the fine holes of a box grater
produces 1/2 cup lightly packed; grated on a microplane grater it will produce 3/4 cup lightly packed

36. A Note About Serving
▪ About 1 hour before serving,
remove cheeses from the
refrigerator, unwrap them and
allow them to come to room
temperature
▪ Italian cheeses are often part of an
antipasto served with meats,
cured olives or vegetables,
mostarda, honey, nuts, bread or
crackers
▪ Cheese partners best with wines
that are produced near its origin

37. Godete!
▪ We hope your enjoyed learning about
some of our favorite regional Italian
cheese
▪ Our presentations are designed to
encourage the character of the Italian
lifestyle as a model of well-being and to
promote the belief that preparing a well-laid
table to share and enjoy with your
family and friends in a relaxed and tranquil
manner is a lost pleasure that must be
found again
Giardini di Via Stendhal – Porto Genova -Milan