Tag: varieties

Tome in all its forms and varieties – Italian Cuisine

What shape do the Alps have? That of the toma is one of them. From the pastures of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, which differ in seasoning and intensity, they can be recognized by a subtle bitter vein!

That the name derives from the archaic verb "tomare", to fall, referring to the breaking of the curd and the ease with which the casein (milk protein) coagulates and precipitates separating itself from the liquid component (whey), is only a hypothesis. The origin, however, is certain, linked to the use of milk after the spontaneous surfacing of the fat part and the collection of the cream to produce the butter. The cheese was therefore of the semi-fat type and the cooking temperature of the curd classifies it as semi-cooked pasta, because it does not exceed 40 degrees. These details, which might seem too technical, indicate how much attention the dairyman had to pay to reduce the spontaneous bacterial contamination of milk, without altering its coagulation capacity and the typical aromas of the finished product.

Encoded since 1996 by the Dop, the toma is produced throughout the Alpine and Piedmontese foothills area, while from the eastern part of the Aosta Valley, from the Gressoney valley, comes a raw milk rarity, produced mostly in the summer months, recognized as Pat (traditional food product) e Slow Food presidium.
During the maturing in cells, caves or malghe (on average for 30-40 days, from a minimum of 15 days to a maximum of 60), the rind must be washed from excessive microbial growth to achieve a color that, according to the maturation, goes from intense straw yellow to brown / reddish brown, giving the shapes (from 1.8 to 9 kilos) a rustic look; the paste has a beautiful white color with yellow hues and tiny holes evenly distributed.
The portioning of the toma is in wedges: so you can savor with the eyes, with the hand, with the nose and with the palate an evident elasticity, fragrant lactic aromas that in the Valdostane tomes are enriched with herbaceous notes sometimes balsamic and an intense taste, never intrusive.

Tome of the Gressoney Valley

Produced in mountain pasture, over 2000 meters, with semi-skimmed raw milk, after a minimum aging of 90 days, it is dark, with notes of herbs and stable.
The wine to match: Pinot Noir, Aosta Valley or South Tyrolean, aged in wood; more structured as the maturation of the toma increases.

Toma d Saint’Ours

Delicate and chewy, by pasteurized whole cow's milk, was invented by the Nicoletta di Donnas dairy for the Sant’Orso fair. The "reserve" version ages for over a year and a half.
The wine to match: Mountain red, young and acidulous, juicy, like Gamay from the Aosta Valley.

Toma of the Elvo Valley

Of skimmed milk, of soft dough. After aging from 60 to 120 days, it acquires an intense flavor.
The wine to match: Red, fresh and slightly spicy, like Coste della Sesia, a mix of Nebbiolo, Croatina and Vespolina, also from Biella.

Piedmontese Toma

Protected with the DOP, produced in the mountains and in the plains, ages from 20 to 45 days (over 60 that of the mountain pastures). TO cow milk, of elastic dough, it has different characteristics depending on the area of origin.
The wine to match: A white wine is also fine, for example a Chardonnay from the Langhe with a good structure and aged in wood.

Sheep cheeses: production and varieties – Italian Cuisine

Same recipe (milk, rennet and a lot of patience), many variations. From Sardinia to Tuscany, from Abruzzo to Sicily, that of pecorino cheese is an ancient dairy culture, which embraces the beautiful country and develops into a thousand typical products

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In the beginning it was sheep's cheese
From the most ancient representations, from the great Persepolis Royal Scale to the biblical pages, everything seems to indicate that the first cheese produced could be sheep. Even the declarations of Pliny the Elder on the caseum coebanum legitimately suggest that the Piedmontese Murazzano PDO (today produced with mixed sheep and cow's milk) is to be remembered among the oldest cheeses in Italy. Country that owes much of its gastronomic history to pecorino cheese and which now counts at least forty recognized types.

The island's pastoral tradition
You say pecorino and think of the two major islands. In fact, it is up to them the leadership in the production of sheep cheeses. First of all Sardinia. The Pecorino Romano DOP (Roman because it was wanted by continental traders and industrialists who between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries studied this cheese of great appeal even among the Italian community of America. Even if the Lazio production is infinitesimal compared to the Sardinian one) it is in fact sheep cheese more produced and more exported. Its versatility in the kitchen, the predisposition to be used both as a table cheese (aromatic and slightly spicy) and grated (spicy and intense) places the quantity produced in the pantheon of Italian cheeses, just behind the better known vaccines and buffaloes. Almost unique for the light smoke that distinguishes it is the Fiore Sardo Dop, which has its chosen homeland in the central part of the island. The brown crust and the characteristic shape of the mule-backed side make it recognizable at first sight. And then there is Sicily, where another excellence is preserved, the Piacentinu ennese Dop, a pecorino produced exclusively in the central area of the island, characterized by the addition of saffron stigmas to the curd, which give the cheese its unmistakable aroma. The only stretched curd sheep's milk cheese is Vastedda del Belice Dop, which thanks to the particular processing has a sweet and pleasant aroma on the palate, with slightly acidic traces.

From the Apennines to the Tuscan Maremma
For centuries, at the stroke of autumn, shepherds came down from the Apennines towards the Tuscan Maremma and the coast, in search of winter meadows suitable for extensive exploitation. Even today, the production of sheep's milk cheeses (pure or mixed) has a homeland of choice in Tuscany, with 471 thousand sheep, mainly bred extensively. In Siena, in the late Middle Ages, the Customs of the Paschi (abolished at the end of the 1700s), which ensured the city substantial tax revenues. The particular rotary system, which destined the land for the cultivation of cereals for a year and for two or three for uncultivated, has guaranteed the survival of transhumance until recent times, leading to the birth of Pecorino Toscano Dop. Nowadays it is not easy to attend the rite of transhumance, and cheese has evolved thanks to the presence of cooperatives that collect milk from farms with permanent flocks.

Able to satisfy modern tastes with soft and semi-hard versions, it is recognized for its fragrant and sweet flavor
The one produced in the territory of Crete Senesi, appreciated for the softness and delicacy of the aromas. The tradition, which in the area has been handed down by families of Sardinian origin, has it that vegetable rennet, usually of thistle, is used for the preparation of the cheeses. The result is a pleasantly bitter aftertaste, which has contributed to its success.

Dairy art of Central Italy
The medieval use of burying caciotte in holes dug into the tuff still lives on the hills today between Romagna and Marche in the production of the pecorino di fossa di Sogliano Dop, a semi-hard and crumbly cheese with hints of undergrowth and truffles. Along theUmbrian-Marches Apennines, from Valnerina to Norcia, you arrive in Amatrice and then on the Monti della Meta, in the Aquila area: here you can find pecorino with an intense flavor and crumbly paste in the seasoned version. The most recent frontiers of pecorino, around Norcia and Cascia, are made up of the version with black truffle or aged in walnut leaves. The strong taste also characterizes the pecorino from Amatrice, which according to tradition, is produced in the period from April to July with unpasteurized milk. The products of the Abruzzo area are distinguished by the transhumance of the flocks, which for centuries moved up to the Capitanata, in Puglia. THE pecorino from Abruzzo they have the forged external appearance of the basket, where the freshly produced cheese is placed. In Campania there is an equally characteristic cheese, the Pecorino Carmasciano. It is mainly elaborated in Rocca San Felice and Guardia Lombardi, in Irpinia. Here the pasture of the flocks is conditioned by the sulfur exhalations of the mephites which give an aroma of incense to the final product.

The "caci" of the South
A historian capital of sheep's cheese is the Lucana Moliterno, in Basilicata. The characteristic of the Pecorino Canestrato di Moliterno PGI lies in the maturation, which takes place for at least two months in humid fondaci and at an almost constant temperature, elements that affect the structure of the pasta, which is never dry, and the aroma, sweet and delicate in the early stages of maturation, pungent with the continuation of the same . The area of the Monte Poro, in the Vibonese area, in Calabria, is one of the most devoted to the production of sheep's cheese. The milk of the flocks, fed extensively on pastures rich in fragrant essences, transmits strong sweet-bitter notes to the forms. Delicate and with an aftertaste reminiscent of hazelnut if young, spicy with umami veins if seasoned, these are the characteristics of Pecorino Crotonese Dop: it can be recognized by the imprints of the characteristic basket in which it rests for the first days of production, engraved on the flat faces of the cheese.

How pecorino is born
Milk. Sheep is rich in vitamin A, with a higher percentage of protein and fat than cow. It can be processed raw or after being treated with heat at low temperatures (thermization) or more strongly (pasteurization).
Curd. To "solidify" the milk, rennet is added, which can be animal or vegetable. The most used is that of veal, which gives a sweeter taste than sheep rennet, but for some years there has also been return to wild thistle vegetable rennet. The latter, extracted from the pistils of the flower and preserved in aqueous solution, gives the cheese a spicy and slightly bitter taste. We then proceed to the "break up"of the curd, an operation aimed at favor the separation of the whey: in this way grains are obtained as large as a hazelnut for a young pecorino, or as a grain of corn for a seasoned one.
Shapes. The curd is then transferred into the molds and left to drain to lose the excess liquid. The shapes come dry salted or immersed in brine and left to mature, from a minimum of 20 days to over a year.
storage. Pecorino should be kept in a cool place, wrapped in a clean cloth, in the least cold compartment of the fridge.

Variety of sheep cheeses
Pecorino Romano DOP
Produced in Lazio, but especially in Sardinia, it is tasty, aromatic and versatile in the kitchen. The young one, aged for 5 months, has a hard and compact texture that goes well with fruit compotes, cold cuts and fresh legumes, such as broad beans. The seasoned one is grainy and slightly spicy, excellent for grating on pastas such as cacio e pepe, carbonara and gricia.

Pecorino Toscano PDO (sweet)
Fresh and fragrant, it is left to mature for at least 20 days. It has a soft paste with a delicate flavor, with the typical aroma of milk. Perfect to add grated to delicious fillings and fillings or as a table cheese, to be served with nuts or in oil. It also lends itself to sweet combinations, such as the one with chestnut honey.

Fiore Sardo Dop
It is recognized for its particular convex shape called "mule's back". The paste, straw yellow, which tends to darken in the seasoned forms, has an intense and persistent smell. On the palate it is hard, crumbly, dry and grainy. The flavor is strong, slightly acidic and spicy in the more seasoned forms. Excellent table cheese when eaten young, also excellent in flakes or grated if aged.

Pecorino di Fossa di Sogliano Dop Originally from Sogliano al Rubicone (FC), owes its typical flavor to maturation: the wheels are put from August to November to mature in the "pits", sandstone cavities lined with straw and reeds. With a hard texture and an intense and spicy taste, it can be enjoyed naturally, accompanied by the sweet notes of honey and fruit jams.

Piacentino Ennese Dop
It is produced with the milk of sheep fed with plants of the Mediterranean scrub, such as sulla and vetch, which, together with the saffron stigmas and peppercorns added to the curd, determine its particular aromatic flavor. Fresh or semi-aged, it is an excellent table cheese, but it is also used for fondues and savory creams.

Pecorino Toscano Dop (aged)
It matures for a minimum of 4 months up to a year and gradually the flavor becomes more intense and structured (but never spicy or salty). It is recognized for its thin crust and compact semi-hard texture, with small irregular holes. Grated or reduced into flakes, it is perfect to sprinkle on pasta and soups or to prepare delicious savory zabaglione.

Riccardo Lagorio
Photo by Francesca Moscheni
For this piece, published in Sale & Pepe in May 2021, Lagorio, a journalist expert in gastronomy and a regular collaborator of our magazine, received the Lattendibile Journalistic Award, announced by Assolatte for the best article dedicated to cheese.

September 2021

Posted on 17/09/2021

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Onion soup: which varieties to use? – Italian Cuisine

The best of all are the red from Tropea and the white from Brunate, without forgetting the Umbrian from Cannara, the Sicilian from Giarratana and the Tuscan from Certaldo.

White, red or gold? When it comes to onions it is never easy to make a decision. The variety there are many, with numerous beneficial properties for our body and suitable for preparing various recipes: give her Gratin onions to flat bread, passing through the Onions Sweet & Sour or those cooked baked. But this vegetable, which is good for the heart, to the bones, purifies us and is even suitable for diabetics, it can also become the main ingredient for another typically winter recipe: onion soup. How is this dish cooked? And which variety onion do you have to choose? Here are all the answers.

A big family

In Italy onion cultivation is one of the most widespread, from north to south. This is confirmed by the large number of varieties existing in our country. There is the Banari Sardinian onion, golden and ideal in the oven, the white of Barletta, excellent fresh or pickled. Then there is the Cavasso red onion, the borettana, the white of Chioggia, there copper of Montoro and the best known of all: the red onion from Tropea, an all-Italian delicacy protected by the brand Igp and by a consortium of producers active for several years.

The best onion soup

However, not all varieties of the large onion family are suitable for the preparation of a soup with a strong and decisive flavor. That of Tropea, for example, is fine both alone, but even better if accompanied with white onion from Brunate which is not very big, has a rounded shape and is definitely suitable for cupcakes and soups, in fact. To prepare a delicious onion soup, you need to chop one coast of celery it's a carrot, to brown with a little oil. Then three are added Tropea onions and three of Brunate, finely cut, and let it all flavor, perhaps adding wine. After it has evaporated, half a liter of broth, adjusts to salt and continue to cook over very low heat for about an hour. In the end, all that remains is to serve with a ground of pepper, a little bit of oil raw, the classics croutons of bread and a nice sprinkling of grated cheese.

Other varieties indicated

Another onion suitable for the preparation of an excellent winter soup is that of Certaldo, grown in Tuscany, round shape and color Violet. Even the white onion of Giarratana, in Sicily, it is another of those varieties that are ideal for soup, thanks to its particular sweet and never pungent taste. The already mentioned onion of Tropea and Brunate, as well as in coupled, they also go great on their own, while the last tip for the best varieties concerns the Umbrian one of Cannara. On the market there are different shades and all perfect for preparing onion soup.