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Montasio
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Identity Card
Name: Montasio
Product category: DOP Cheese (Protected Designation of Origin)
Milk used: Cow's milk
Zone of production: Friuli-VeneziaGiulia region and the eastern part of the Veneto region in the northeast of Italy.
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A PEARL OF THE ALPINE MEADOWS |
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People have been talking about Montasio for at least three centuries, but this cheese was probably being produced even before that in the summer mountain pastures of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. The fact that it is named after a mountain in Friuli-Venezia Giulia clearly reveals its origin, although it is currently also produced on the lowland plain, a fact that has contributed to the fame of this jewel of northeastern Italy's cheese-making tradition. There are three types of Montasio: Fresco (aged for just 2 months), Mezzano (aged for 5-10 months) and Stagionato (aged for over 10 months).
All these cheeses are made in the same way, but during the various aging processes that take on quite distinct characteristics. Initially delicate and mild, with a conspicuously milky note, with aging the flavor tends to get sharper and more aromatic. From a nutritional point of view Montasio is a fairly evenly balanced cheese, containing on the average from 32 to 34% fat and from 24 to 26% protein; it is also rich in calcium and vitamin E. When it comes to cooking with this product, it can be featured in a remarkably wide range of dishes, from antipasti to desserts, thanks to the different periods of aging that ensure a uniquely versatile cheese that can be used with great flexibility. It is often melted and served as a rich sauce to add an extra touch of flavor to both meat and fish dishes. In order to obtain a creamy, smooth sauce it is best to cut the cheese into little cubes and melt it over a very low flame (the Mezzano variety is perfect for this purpose), slowly blending in a few tablespoons of besciamella.
It is always a good idea to add a little nutmeg, but not too much because you don't want to overwhelm the natural fragrance of the melted Montasio. The sauce can be used to make an excellent topping for a dish of Sedani Rigati; making a delightfully simple dish, or served with chicken breast cooked on a griddle. This sauce is equally interesting combined with filets of delicate white fish, such as flounder. Your choice of wine will be influenced by the amount of aging the cheese has undergone. In the case of a Montasio Fresco, you would do well to opt for an aromatic white wine (for instance, a Traminer); when it comes to a cheese that has aged for over 10 months, we would recommend a well structured, full-bodied red wine like a Cabernet-Franc, another jewel of this hilly region.
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