What is Taleggio?

Taleggio is a soft, rind-ripened cow’s milk cheese originating in northern Italy. The process of washing the flat, square wheels with salt brine during the aging process gives Taleggio its characteristic sharp, earthy aroma and distinctive rind. This cheese is a good source of protein and calcium and contains about 48% fat.

What is Taleggio?

With its soft, lush interior and fragrant rind, Taleggio is one of Italy’s most popular cheeses. Production in the northern Italian mountain valley of Val Taleggio, where this cheese originated, dates back to at least the 13th century. Taleggio is a Stracchino cheesethat is, it was traditionally prepared in late September, when dairy farmers would take their tired cows back to the valleys after a summer of grazing on high mountain pastures. During this time of year, the milk has a high buttermilk content, which makes for a particularly lush soft cheese. Taleggio is traditionally made with raw milkalthough pasteurized versions are also available.

Taleggio’s flavor is buttery and herbaceous, with a distinct funk from its signature Washed peel. The same microbes that give this cheese its aromatic tang also produce a peach-pink color on its thin, soft rind, which may also have spots of gray or green mold.

Taleggio was granted PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status in 1996, meaning that only cheese produced in three regions of northern Italy — Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto — can legally be called Taleggio. In the natural caves of Valsacina, a valley in Lombardy, wheels on wooden planks are still aged in the traditional way. In addition to being enjoyed as a table cheese, Taleggio is used in many Italian pasta and rice dishes.

How is Taleggio made?

Whole raw or pasteurized milk is heated in a large vat. rather than adding starter cultures beforehand Rantthe cheese maker adds both at the same time. After the milk has coagulated, Yogurt Harvested in two stages, resulting in small, hazelnut-sized kernels. The curd is formed into eight-inch-square molds, then dried overnight.

Next, salt is applied to the exterior of each wheel, either by dry salting or brining. The cheese is aged on wooden boards for 35 to 50 days, during which time it is washed weekly with salty brine to retain moisture and cultivate the rinds of good molds, bacteria, and yeasts. . These microbes are responsible for its signature heat and pink-colored peel. As the cheese cooks on the outside, the inside of the cheese becomes soft and mushy, while the center of the wheel can be firm or crumbly.

Alternative

On a cheese board, other soft or semi-soft smear-ripened or washed cheeses can be a good substitute for Taleggio. For melting in recipes, they are cheeses other than strong-tasting bloomy rind cheeses like bad or mild, firm Italian cheeses such as Fontina Or can be used instead of a bell piece.

uses

Taleggio makes one The perfect addition to a cheese board Along with contrasting styles of cheese. In recipes, it melts exceptionally well, adding buttery, earthy, and tangy flavors, though it doesn’t spread like mozzarella. It can be melted into risotto or pasta, baked into a casserole, or sliced ​​and melted over pizza.

Storage

Wrap the telgiope tightly in parchment paper or waxed paper, then place the cheese in an unsealed plastic sandwich bag or plastic container and store in the cheese drawer or crisper drawer in your refrigerator. This will allow the cheese to breathe while keeping it moist and protected from the drying air of your refrigerator. If you bought something wrapped in cheese paper at a cheese shop, reuse the cheese paper, which is lined with plastic on the inside, to keep the cheese fresh if possible.

Taleggio is best eaten within a week of purchase, but can be stored well-wrapped in your refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Taleggio recipes

Can you eat the rind?

Taleggio’s washed rind is edible and adds an essential earthy, mineral quality to the experience of eating this cheese.