🧀 Silter

Silter is an Italian cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), made from raw milk that is partly skimmed only by removing the cream that rises naturally. According to the single document, at least 80% of the lactating cows on a holding must be mountain breeds (Bruna, Grigio Alpina, Pezzata Rossa), with Bruna at least 60%. The cows are fed grass and/or hay; silage and haylage are not allowed.

The cheese is cylindrical, 34–40 cm in diameter, with a heel of 8–10 cm, and weighs 10–16 kg. The rind is hard, straw yellow turning brown after oiling and ageing. The paste is firm, never too springy, with small to medium eyes; fat is 27–45% of dry matter and moisture at most 40%. The flavour is mild, without bitterness, with notes of nuts, butter and milk of cattle at pasture, green or dried fodder and chestnut flour; very mature cheeses are fuller.

Silter is aged for at least 100 days; after 100 days the wheel is hot-branded with the word SILTER, two edelweiss flowers and the letters D.O.P. The name comes from the maturing rooms called silter.

The animals are reared and the cheese made and aged in the whole Comunità Montana di Valle Camonica and part of the Comunità Montana del Sebino Bresciano, 47 municipalities in the province of Brescia.