Best Trentino Natural Rind Cheese Types
Alta Badia is a traditional cheese originating from South Tyrol. The cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk and it's usually left to age for 6 months. Underneath its natural brownish rind, the texture is semi-hard, firm, and compact.
The aromas and flavors are complex, intense, tangy, and milky, with long-lasting toasted notes. This Gruyere-like cheese melts well, so it's often used in local dishes or served as a table cheese. It also goes well with potatoes, cured ham, and dark bread.
It's recommended to pair Alta Badia cheese with fruity red wines or a dry Riesling.
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This semi-hard cheese comes from the Stelvio Valley and the province of Bolzano, located in the mountainous northern Italian region of Trentino-Alto Adige, bordered by Austria to the north-east, which is why Stelvio is sometimes called by its German name - Stilfser.
A product of the well-established cheesemaking culture of the wider Bolzano area, Stelvio or Stilfser is made with milk from cows raised on the local mountain farms. Made for hundreds of years before, it wasn't recognized and named up until the early 1900s.
Fontal is an Italian industrially-produced semi-soft cow's milk cheese that's made throughout Northern Italy. The cheese is a combination of two cheeses – Fontina and Emmental, hence the name. It has a reddish-brown rind that hides a smooth, dense, and slightly elastic texture of the paste.
Fontal ages from 45 to 60 days. It's very aromatic and the flavors are milky, mild, and buttery, with hints of almonds. The cheese melts exceptionally well, so it's recommended to use it in fondues or grill it with wild mushrooms. Drink pairings include Terre d'Agata di Salaparuta and Pignolo di Filiputti.
Trentingrana is an Italian Grana cheese hailing from Trento. The cheese is made from raw cow's milk and it ages for 22 months. The rind is thick and dark yellow in color, imprinted with the word Trentino on each wheel. The texture is hard, grainy, and compact, while the flavors are sweet, rich, and full.
The aftertaste is floral and delicate, with herbaceous and grassy hints. The cheese has been produced since 1926. It's recommended to eat it as it is or grate it over pasta. Trentingrana can also be used in salads and served with fresh fruit. Pair it with sparkling white wines or full-bodied red wines.
Bela Badia is an Italian cheese produced in South Tyrol. The cheese is made from cow's milk and ages for 2 months. Underneath its smooth and dry crust, the texture is soft, supple, open, and straw-colored. The interior becomes intense with time and has a creamy, fresh, mild, sweet, and slightly tangy flavor, with hints of milk and grass.
Bela Badia takes its name after the Badia valley, although it is produced in the whole Puster valley. It's recommended to grill Badia and accompany it with a glass of sparkling Brut Hausmannhof Riserva or Riesling Renano.
Vezzena is a traditional cheese hailing from Trento, where it's been produced in the alpine farms of Lavarone, Vezzena, and Folgaria since the early 1900s. The cheese is made from June to September from partially skimmed raw cow's milk and it's usually left to mature from 12 to 24 months.
There are a few versions of the cheese – fresh, medium-aged, aged, and extra-aged (more than 24 months). The texture is semi-hard, creamy, open, and buttery, while the grainy texture can be found in aged versions. The flavor is pleasantly bitter, herbaceous, piquant, intense, and earthy.
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Crucolo is an Italian cheese hailing from Trentino-Alto Adige region. Dating back to the 19th century, the cheese is made from raw cow's milk. The milk is of the highest quality because the cows graze on green grass along the banks of the Brenta River.
There are four versions – the sweet and fresh version (30 days of aging), the semi-hard version (60 days of aging), the version with Teroldego wine, and the giant version that weighs about 200 kg. Crucolo is typically moist, rich, and buttery, with a tangy finish, while the texture is dotted with eyes.
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Casolét is an Italian cheese produced in the mountains and valleys of Trentino-Alto Adige. The cheese is made from raw and pasteurized milk of cows that are reared in Peio Valley. The name is derived from the Latin caseoulus, meaning small cheese.
Casolét is made in various formats - squares, triangles, or even Rosa Camuna, an ancient drawing of a rose. Its thin orange rind is dusted with grey and white mold, hiding a straw-yellow paste underneath. The texture is supple with irregular eyes and the aromas are that of fermented fruits.
Named after the process of pressing the cheese, Spressa delle Giudicarie is made by hand according to the ancient recipe passed down from one generation to another. It is made with the milk of Rendena cows, and produced in the province of Trentino.
Traditionally made from leftover milk, after skimming off the cream to make butter, this is one of the oldest Alpine cheeses. The low-fat, semi-cooked and semi-hard Spressa cheese comes in two varieties: Giovane, ready for consumption after 3 months, and Stagionato, a more mature version which requires 6 months of aging.
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Caprino is a goat’s milk cheese made throughout Italy - the name derives from the Italian word capra, meaning goat. In the region of Trentino Alto Adige, it is produced mainly in the province of Trento, around Val di Fiemme, Predazzo, and Valli Giudicarie.
Made from pasteurized milk and kid or lamb rennet, Caprino Trentino is salted in brine and left to mature for at least 90 days. The crust gets hard and straw-colored, while the interior turns ivory-white, compact and greasy in texture. This delicious table cheese is best enjoyed paired with local red wines of medium alcohol content.
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