Asiago

This semi-hard to hard cheese is available in two main varieties: the fresh Asiago Pressato and matured Asiago d'Allevo. Depending on the length of aging, d'Allevo is marketed as Mezzano (4-6 months), Vecchio (10 months and over) and Stravecchio (15 months and over).

It has a subtle nutty aroma and a rich piquant taste. Because its hard texture makes it perfect for grating, Asiago Stravecchio is excellent in risottos, ravioli, and pasta dishes, while Mezzano is often served as an appetizer accompanied with radicchio, elderberry or pear jam, fig mustard, and other fruit and vegetable spreads.

Produced on the Asiago plateau since the year 1000, this cheese was known among locals as Pegorin because, in the past, only sheep milk was used (pecora means sheep in Italian). Today, Asiago cheese is made from cow's milk and production takes place in the provinces of Vicenza, Treviso and Padua in the Veneto region, and in Trento in the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige. Also, since the cheese has a protected designation of origin in Italy and the EU, only Asagio produced in those provinces from the milk from the farms in those areas can have the PDO/DOP status.