Italian cheese. The names and characteristics of Italian cheeses
A food product like cheese can be eaten withoutIt is an exaggeration to call one of the most important and beloved foods of man. Practically in each refrigerator there is a piece. It is added to salads, snacks and main dishes, desserts are prepared with it ... The application options for this product are a lot.
Basics: Definition and History
Cheese, along with bread, can be rightfully consideredone of the most ancient foodstuffs of man, which needed to be cooked, and not consumed in the form that was presented by Mother Nature. The first evidence, which gives us to understand that cheese was an element of the diet of people of that time, dates back more than 5000 years BC. e. on the territory of modern Poland. Separate gratitude for this is worth bearing out to that negligent cheese maker that did not wash after itself a sieve for cheese making, thanks to which already in our days on it were found particles of milk fat. Who would have thought that it was with this that the Italian cheeses began, the names, tastes and flavors of which circled the head to gourmets all over the world!
The principle of obtaining cheese, with the exception of minor details, was similar - it was based on rennet fermentation, which accelerated the process of dividing milk into cottage cheese and whey.
This enzyme was obtained from the stomachs of the deadanimals. There is an assumption that, like all genius, the appearance of cheese was the result of a mistake - using by-products, touched the milk and saw what became of it. So there was an excellent way of original preservation of such whimsical product, as milk, after all cheese can be stored on the order longer.
Favorite all Italian cheese has appeared a lotlater. Then the technology of cheese making was too complicated, therefore it was not practiced in the territory of Ancient Rome. The product was positioned as an import delicacy and, naturally, only very rich people could please them.
Russia did not lag behind, also producing cheese. Actually, even the name of the product speaks about the method of preparation - Russian masters did not heat the mass in the production process, that's why the cheese. Under Peter the Great, who successfully cut the window to Europe, the country learned that there are also Italian cheeses, the names of which we will consider below.
Mamma Mia
Italians should not be underestimated - aboutcheeses, their knowledge and skills are not inferior even to the glorified France. Italian cheeses, the names of which we will mention below, have at least 400 items, each of which has an individual taste and aroma. All of them can be divided according to the technology of preparation. This is very important, since belonging to one group speaks of relative interchangeability, whereas the use of a different subgroup cheese in the recipe is fraught with unpleasant consequences. Relatively speaking, you will get a little pleasant in the event that you replace parmesan mascarpone with tiramisu.
Hard cheeses
From the title everything is clear. It is a cheese with a solid texture and rich taste.
- Ubriaco. This solid cheese, whose name in Italian means "drunk". After the initial molding the cheese is laid out in a container, filled with wine and covered with grape cake. In this mode, he spends from six months to a year. The output is an amazing cheese, whose tart aroma of fermented fruits is combined with a rich taste of pineapple.
- It is impossible not to mention the most popular ofItalian cheeses - asiago. At the dawn of his existence, it was made from sheep's milk, but over time, they switched to cow's milk. This cheese is divided into two types. The first one is young, ripens for a maximum of 1 month. It is pale, elastic, with a soft and delicate creamy taste. The second ripens at least a year. During this period, the specially created microclimate fills with its taste of fruit and sharpness, the texture itself is firm, fine-grained, and the color is similar to honey. If you wait another 12 months, the aroma will increase, it will become very fragile and similar in color to caramel.
- Cheese of a grain. This solid cheese wears a common name, since it is divided into the Grand Padana and Parmigiano Reggiano. The first has a bright, sweet, tasteful fruit, in which pineapple dominates. The cheese itself crumbles, has a yellowish color and is very hard. Perfectly lends itself to freezing without loss of taste. Ages about 4 years. The second is similar in taste to the grana padana, only everything in it is more intense - and hardness, and taste, and aroma. Sold in large parts;
- Sheep cheese pecorino. Prepare it from the end of autumn to the beginning of summer, since it is during this period that the sheep receive a free "paddock". This cheese is salty and spicy, ripens in an average year.
Semi-soft cheeses
This Italian cheese is the largestnumber of varieties. Despite this, they are divided primarily into two groups - those that have a thin crust and differ in a long period of aging, and those that have a thick bright crust.
- Cachotta di Urbino. This cheese is most popular in the homeland. It has a loose, sweet, moist texture. In the taste guessed notes of milk, herbs and nuts.
- Stracchino. One of Italy's most amazing cheeses. Traditionally ripens in caves, due to which it gets a crust of pink color and aroma, in which almonds and shades of hay mixed. The taste reminds, oddly enough, a creamy soup with asparagus.
- Fontina. Has a dense and elastic texture. The inside is evenly covered with small holes. The taste is intense nutty with a drop of sweet-smelling honey.
Blue cheeses
Here the palm of the championship, no doubt, belongsgorgonzole. All the Italian cheeses, the photos of which we provided in this article, are self-sufficient to taste, and gorgonzola including. However, it really "will play" it in combination with a fresh pear. Strongly recommend to try.
Semi-hard cheeses
They are united by a consistency - dense and creamy. Covered with a crust of mold or natural, for greater safety, sealed with wax.
Fresh cheeses
Representatives of this type are the following varieties of Italian cheeses:
- Robiola is pasteurized. It has a sweet-sour aroma and a consistency of fresh butter.
- Robiola unpasteurized. The texture is fleshy, juicy, the flavor is closer to the yeast.
- Crescenza. The closest in taste to yogurt. This cheese is so full of whey that it seems wet.
Cheese on a clot
This type is a stretched cheese clot, it includes:
- Caciokavallo. Traditional farm cheese. It is processed mechanically until the texture acquires pronounced fiber and yt stops tearing. After that, the mass is divided into portions, is molded and fed to aging. The taste of this cheese is beautiful, tender and sweet.
- The best-known bunch cheese is mozzarella (photo).
Whey Cheese
Here ricotta is considered to be the favorite of all times and peoples.
Mature cheese
This category includes the legendary Mascarpone. He has an extreme fat content and equally transcendental taste of cream.
Application
And here is the most delicious. Dishes in which you can apply Italian cheeses, mass! No pasta can do without the intervention of parmesan, cannoli; traditional Italian dessert impossible without ricotta. Pizza "Margarita", an unforgettable and endlessly tasty classic, owes its taste to a combination of greens, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese (photo).
Cheese brought directly from Italy is different.high enough price. How to be those who can not afford them? Craftsmen will find a way everywhere. For example, now the production of cheese has unfolded on the territory of Belarus, and the technology completely repeats the one that is common in the original lands. Of course, this is not Italian cheese from Italy, but nevertheless the product is very decent.
