Fontina cheese

Cheese holds a special place in the Italian culinary tradition. The sunny country of Italy boasts not only a great variety of cheese products, but also an ancient history of cheese making. Since ancient times, various varieties of sour-milk products have been made on Italian soil. Some types of Italian cheese rightfully took their rightful place in world cooking. For example, the famous Italian cheese, which for several centuries has been made in the alpine region of the country - the province of Val D'Agosta.

The history of fontina cheese began in the Middle Ages, when the inhabitants of the Italian Alps decided for the first time to make cheese from cow's milk in a special way. Much later in the XVII century, the cheese received its original name fontina. Researchers found written references to fontina cheese in the monastic papers of Gran San Bernardo. Since then, fontina cheese has become well-deserved popularity not only in the territory of its historical homeland in Italy, as well as in neighboring states.

There are two main versions of the origin of the name fontina cheese. some researchers believe that the word fontina was called the best pastures in the alpine region. According to another version, fontina cheese received this name due to its distinctive properties (the word fontina literally translates from Italian means "melting"). Over time, fontina cheese gained worldwide fame and popularity among foodies. Fontina cheese is famous for its distinctive delicate cheese taste, as well as a pronounced aroma with barely noticeable spicy notes.

Fontina cheese refers to the floor of hard cheese varieties, the product has an elastic and rather soft structure. The cheese mass differs in its color, or rather in a straw tone of cheese. It is worth noting that the distinctive taste qualities, as well as the aroma of fontina cheese, are acquired during the production of sour-dairy product. The thing is that fontina cheese is produced only from high-quality milk of cows belonging to the Waldostan breed. As a rule, fontina cheese matures for at least three months. However, some types of fontina cheese can withstand more time.

Such a product will be distinguished by exceptional taste and aroma qualities, as well as a price that will several times exceed the cost of three-month-old fontina cheese. However, fontina cheese is famous not only for its taste and cheese aroma. This product boasts its vitamin-mineral composition, which contains a sufficient amount of lactic acid microorganisms, as well as vitamins and other biologically active and useful compounds for the human body. As a rule, fontina cheese is served as a snack or dessert with red wine.