Asiago

Description

Asiago is a hard cheese or semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk from the Veneto region in northern Italy. It is the most famous cheese of Veneto and is considered one of the most important cheeses of Italy in general. Asiago has been produced for about 1000 years. The cheese originates from the Altopiano dei Sette Comuni. It takes its name from the city of Asiago, which is located on this plateau. Since the plateau borders directly on the territory of the former Austrian Empire, it has always been the scene of military conflicts. Especially as a result of Napoleon's Italian campaign and the 1st and 2nd World Wars, the region became heavily depopulated. The fleeing people took the recipe for Asiago with them and so production was extended to neighboring Trentino. On May 15, 1916 the Austro-Hungarian army began its so-called South Tyrolean Offensive. This was the start of three years of bloody fighting on the mountain front in the Alps. In the course of the battle, up to 400 000 Italian soldiers arrived in the region, all of whom had to be fed. Cheese was an obvious choice, but the traditional Asagio cheese took several months to ripen and was therefore unsuitable for feeding the troops. Therefore, a new cheese was developed. Instead of semi-skimmed milk, they took whole milk and pressed the curds. The resulting cheese was ready to taste after about a month. Asiago fresco (Fresh Asiago) or Asiago pressato (Pressed Asiago) was developed.

Asiago di Allevo: The cheese flavor is sweet at first and becomes more piquant as it matures. The cheese is initially easy to slice but becomes firmer and more crumbly as it ages. The Asiago di Allevo is more appreciated by connoisseurs, but is much rarer and more expensive compared to the Asiago pressato.

Asiago pressato or Asiago fresco:  Asiago pressato cuts well and has a mild and slightly sweet cheese taste.

The younger Asiago pressato is served with Italian bread as a small meal. The older and stronger Asiago di Allevo is mainly grated and sprinkled over soups, pasta or polenta for flavoring, or stirred into risotto. It is also suitable for gratinating casseroles.