Fontina

Product A stringy cheese obtained from whole milk from a single milking.

Shape Each cheese has a diameter of 11.8"-17.7" and a height of about 2.8". Its weight varies from 17.6 to 26.4 lbs.

Characteristics The rind is dark brown and is 4" thick. The paste is soft, either white or colored a light straw yellow, with minute round holes. Its taste is sweet, pleasant and delicate, more pronounced and tart in the aged version. This is a nutritious cheese, rich in proteins, and may easily be used as a substitute for meat; 3.5 oz. contain 350 calories.

Consumption Fontina is utilized raw as well as in a great number of recipes: fondue "alla Valdostana," with polenta or gnocchi, as a filling in meat bundles, or in cheese pies. It is also very good grilled and eaten with rustic bread.

Production Only the best milk from "Valdostana" cows may be used. The milk is filtered through various layers of wadding and silk cloths, and then heated over a wood flame in copper cauldrons until it reaches 97°F, when calf's rennet is added. After about 40 minutes, curds begin to form, which are broken into miniscule pieces with wooden utensils. The mixture is brought to 122°F., then taken off the flame and left to settle. The paste thus obtained is poured, still steaming, in molds which are kept under pressure in order to eliminate any remaining whey. The cheese is then removed to a cool place where it remains for two months and where, once dry, it is salted with fine salt. After the requisite two months, the cheese is brought to the mountains to age, at a minimum altitude of 3,280 feet, in either caves or subterranean tunnels, for at least three months. Before sale, each cheese is marked with an emblem, consisting of a circle containing Monte Cervino, and the emblem "Consorzio Produttori Fontina" which guarantees the cheese's quality and authenticity.

Production Area Fontina is produced exclusively in the Val d'Aosta. The cheese obtained DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) designation in 1955. A cheese similar to Fontina, called "Fontal," is produced exclusively in the Trentino region.

History The ancestor of Fontina is a cheese already known in the 1300s by the name of "seras." This cheese, due to its careful production and the goodness of its milk, was much appreciated by the local gentry. Name The name refers to a place mentioned in a Latin text in the year 1270. It also refers to one of the cheese's main characteristics: when placed near a source of heat, it quickly melts and forms filaments.

Storage The cheese keeps in the refrigerator for 8-10 days. It may also be frozen and consumed directly after defrosting.