The famous Italian Fontina cheese: history, technology, recipes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Today we will get acquainted with the famous Italian Fontina cheese. Photos show it in the form of not very wide discs with a round stamp - the outlines of Mount Cervinia (another name for the Matterhorn) and the inscription Fontina.

And also on the original product must be the abbreviation DOP, indicating that it is made in the Aosta Valleys. So what does this cheese taste like? What milk is it made from? What technology? What dishes use fontina? And most importantly: what can replace this Italian cheese? We will talk about all this in our article.

History of Fontina

The outline of Mount Cervinia, the symbol of the Alps, on the label of the cheese tells us that the milk for it was taken from cows that grazed in the rich meadows of the slopes of the Matterhorn. But where did the name “fontina” come from?

There are three versions of this. The first, the simplest, says that the cheese recipe was invented inthe village of Fontinas. The second version refers us to the archives of the monastery of Gran San Bernardo. The documents of the 17th century mention the de Funtina family, who supplied cheese to the monastery.

And finally, the third version, which also has the right to exist: in the Middle Ages, the hard-to-reach Aosta valleys served as a haven for emigrants from Occitania (South of France), who fled here from the Inquisition.

And therefore the term "fontina" has not Italian, but Languedoc roots. "Fondis" or "fontis" - this is how cheese was defined, which has the ability to melt when heated. Much later, the famous fondue dish originated from this term.

The first references to Fontina cheese are not related to documents or cookbooks, but to… painting. The Castello di Issogna has frescoes from the 12th century depicting the famous heads maturing on the shelves.

And in 1477 this cheese is mentioned in the treatise Summa Lacticinorum by the doctor Pantaleone da Confienza. Since 1955 the product has been protected by control of origin (DOP). It is produced only in the Valle d'Aosta region, and nowhere else in the world.

Can you make fontina cheese at home

The recipe for the production of the product has come down to us almost unchanged since the Middle Ages. In order to make a real fontina yourself, you need to be a happy owner of Valdostana Pezzata cows, and at the same time high-mountainous alpine pastures, where they should graze in the summer and use hay from there in the winter.

To create cheese, one milk yield is used, and it is heated to 36 degrees no later thantwo hours. Therefore, the cheese factory should be located next to the pasture.

Fatty whole milk is curdled by adding calf abomasum. It takes place in steel or copper cauldrons for at least 40 minutes.

The resulting clot should be broken into pieces the size of a corn grain. The whey separator boilers are heated to 47 degrees, after which the sediment is transferred to special containers for pumping.

Pressing lasts a day. After that, the head is immersed in saline for 12 hours. Fontina does not ripen anywhere, but in caves carved into the rocks, where air humidity of 90% and a temperature of +10 degrees are maintained year-round. For 80 days (this is the minimum period), the heads are turned, rubbed, s alted in a dry way.

Gastronomic characteristics of the product

As you can see, it is almost impossible to repeat the technological process for making Fontina cheese at home. Moreover, one head requires about a hundred liters of milk.

How to recognize the original product? These are cylinders 7-10 centimeters high with slightly concave sides and flat edges. The ideal weight of one head is from 7.5 to 12 kilograms.

The crust on the cheese should be compact, but thin, brown. The amount of fat in the fontina is 45 percent. The maturity of the cheese is medium. Therefore, its texture is elastic, soft.

On the cut, the cheese reveals many small eyes, the number of which increases towards the middle of the head. The color of the fountain dependsfrom aging - from ivory to ripe straw.

The aroma of the cheese is very rich. The taste is characteristic, sweetish, with nutty notes. A mature fontina has a firmer texture. This type of flavor has a spiciness and more of a walnut, which is combined with herbal and fruity nuances.

How to serve

Fontina is quite worthy of being on a cheese plate next to her no less famous brothers from Italy and France. Dry red wine goes well with it. Merlot or Nebbiolo would be the perfect choice.

In order for the Italian Fontina cheese to reveal itself in all its glory, it is necessary to store it properly. The cut piece should be wrapped in a damp linen towel and placed in a vacuum container.

But you can use the refrigerator. We wrap the fontina with cling film and put it in the warmest place - on the door. Before serving, it is recommended to get the cheese ahead of time, half an hour in advance, so that it becomes at room temperature.

Substitute for Fontina cheese

This product belongs to the DOP category. Because of this status, not everyone can afford its price. And the cost of a mature head is several times higher than young cheeses.

But there is a way out. Fontina is produced in a similar way not only in other regions of Piedmont, but also in different provinces of Italy. And even Denmark, France and Sweden began to make cheese using this technology.

True, there is less spicy spicy taste in such products. The northern fontina is more delicate and its aroma is less pronounced.

By the way, in Italy itself, cheeses are sold using synthetic rennet. This allows you to significantly reduce the cost of the product. True, such cheeses are called "Fontella", "Fontal" and "Fontinella", and they are much softer than their famous original.

In what dishes is present

Fontina cheese is an integral part of the Valdostan culinary culture. In addition to eating solo, it is used for sandwiches - with fresh bread or croutons.

But the main quality that makes fontina so appreciated by culinary experts is its extremely low melting point. Already at 60 degrees, the cheese begins to spread.

Therefore, it is actively used for pizza and hot sandwiches, on which fontina forms an excellent ruddy cap.

Grated cheese is added to salads, meat, soups. Fontina is used for roasting fish and vegetables. She will make delicious risotto and polenta.

Fonduta alla Valdostana

Fontina cheese is often compared to the Swiss Gruyère, and for good reason. Both of these fermented milk products have a low melting point, which is why they are an indispensable ingredient for fondue. In the valleys of Aosta, the famous dish is made like this.

1. Fontina (about 200 grams) is cut into arbitrary pieces and sent to the fondue maker.
2. Pour 125 milliliters of whole farm milk.
3. Lightly mixed and sent for a few hours torefrigerator.
4. The fondue is then heated in a water bath until a thick cream forms from the cheese and milk.
5. Add a piece of butter and two egg yolks.
6. They put the pan on a special burner and start eating.

Threading a piece of bread or fruit on a fork-knitting needle, dip it in fondue and eat.

Alpine Polenta

This is another dish that features fontina cheese as the main ingredient. Its recipe is very simple:

1. From a liter of water and 250 grams of cornmeal, cook thick porridge.
2. Add 150 g of butter to it and set aside to cool.
3. Meanwhile, three 300 grams of fontina, cut sausages, vegetables (tomatoes and bell peppers).
4. Cut cold polenta into strips.
5. Stack on a baking sheet, interspersed with layers of sausages, vegetables and, of course, cheese. Put in the oven to bake.

Serve hot. Bon appetit!