Silter

Product A partly cooked, slightly fatty cheese.

Milk The cheese is usually made from the milk of Brown-Alpine cows. The milk, from the day's two milkings, is partly skimmed.

Origin The production area of this cheese is the lower Val Camonica and the slopes of the Alps to the east of Lake Iseo in Lombardy's Brescia province.

Shape The cheese is cylindrical in shape, with a diameter of 30 to 40 cm. (12-15 3/4 in.) and a height of about 5-8 cm. (2-3 1/4 in.).

Form and Dimensions The size can vary widely, depending upon the pasture area where the cheeses are made. The smallest weigh about 8 kilos (17 1/2 lb.).

Characteristics The rind develops a brownish color and is relatively hard. The interior is straw-yellow in color. It is compact and is lightly pocked by small pores. The cheese has a sweet flavor and a unique aroma of Alpine plants that varies slightly, depending upon the area where the Silter is made. The aged cheese has a more pronounced and characteristic flavor.

Aging or Ripening Aging usually lasts from four to six months but the cheese can be aged for as much as one year.

Consumption Silter is an exquisite table cheese, which connoisseurs say should be consumed without any accompaniment so that its qualities can be more fully appreciated.

Processing The cheese is best when it is made by the herdsman up on the mountain slopes. The milk is put in small copper caldrons and heated until the liquid is warm enough to curdle. The maker then adds some whey left over from previous processing and keeps the milk warm so that the microorganisms in the whey multiply and begin to curdle the liquid; this process is promoted by the addition of liquid calf's rennet. The curds are then broken into small pieces and extracted from the whey. They are placed in wooden molds and weighed down by large stones. A day later, the cheeses are salted, usually by being immersed in brine for three to five days and, afterward, being rubbed with dry salt. The cheeses are then aged in cool, well-ventilated places, with the forms being periodically cleaned and turned. After four to six months, the cheese is ready for consumption.

History The making of Silter is still mostly confined to small craftsmen and is usually carried out in the stone huts in which Alpine herdsmen and their cattle take refuge from bad weather. Such structures are known in the area as silter. Philological research into the name of the cheese, which is also the term applied in the area to the mountain pastures in which the cattle graze in the summer, suggest that it has the same root as the English word shelter. Since the number of herdsmen who pass the summer with their cattle on the upper slopes of the Alps is steadily shrinking, Silter is increasingly made by cheese plants in the valleys. However, that means a loss in the unique flavor of the cheese, which is due to the grasses and herbs that grow only at high altitudes.

Storage The cheese should be kept at room temperature in a well-aired room.