🧀 Taleggio

Taleggio is an Italian soft cheese with a protected designation of origin (PDO), made from whole cow's milk, raw or pasteurised. According to the specification, it is produced, matured and portioned in the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Lecco, Cremona, Milan, Lodi, Monza and Brianza, Pavia, Novara, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Treviso. The name refers to the area of Valsassina and Val Taleggio in Lombardy.

Making. The milk comes from cows reared in the area, and at least half of the dry matter of their feed must come from it. Only milk, animal rennet (liquid, from veal or baby beef), salt and lactic starter cultures are used. The curd is cut coarsely, left to drain, then cut into hazelnut-sized lumps and put into moulds, where the producer's mark is stamped. After a heat treatment of 8 to 16 hours the cheese is turned and salted dry and/or in brine. It ripens for at least 35 days in caves or storerooms at more than 80% humidity and 1 to 6 °C, on wooden boards.

Look and taste. A rectangular block with flat faces and a straight heel: 18 to 22 cm wide, 4 to 7 cm high, weighing 1.5 to 2.5 kg after the 35 days. The rind is thin, soft and naturally pink, with its own microflora; nothing but water and salt may be used on it. The paste is smooth with a few tiny eyes, white to straw yellow, firmer in the centre and softer under the rind. The taste is sweet and aromatic, with notes of milk and a truffle aftertaste. Fat in dry matter is at least 48%.

Marking. Whole cheeses carry a logo stamped on a flat face: four circles in a square with the letter T in three of them and the dairy's number in the fourth. Portioning and packaging must take place in the production area, with limited exceptions at the point of retail sale. Taleggio must not be sold if it is or has been frozen.