Taleggio

Taleggio is a cheese with ancient origins, perhaps even earlier than the 10th century, and was so appreciated that it was used in the banquets for the investiture of Pope Clement VI in 1342 or the marriage of Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti in 1441.

Its production seems to have begun in the the Val Taleggio, north of Bergamo, when the local population in order to make use of excess milk began to produce a cheese that, once it had matured in caves, could be exchanged for other products.

However, the name "Taleggio" appears only in the first decade of the 1800s. Currently the Taleggio D.O.P. is produced in the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Milan and Pavia in Lombardy, Treviso in the Veneto and Novara in the Piedmont, and in 1996 received the DOP label, that is "designated with protected origins."

It's a soft, fatty cheese, made with whole cow's milk, and tastes sweet and buttery. It can only be spicy when it is very mature.

It's a great table cheese and should be served at room temperature; it can be eaten alone or after a meal accompanied by apples or pears. In the kitchen, it has many uses because it melts easily and is thus ideal for the preparation of fillings or as a sauce for pasta, risotto, soups, salads.

It's very suitable for dishes "au gratin" and is great served with polenta. You can keep it in the refrigerator for a few weeks, wrapped in a damp cloth, or in its wrapping to maintain the softness of the crust and allow the passage of air. However, it is better still to consume it within 5-7 days of purchase.