Posts Tagged ‘gourmet cheese’

If you begin to look for Italian cheeses, you will find more than four hundred varieties. Most of the time, we only think of four cheeses as we think of Italian foods.

Many people only think of the cheeses used in Americanized Italian foods. That includes mozzarella which is used in pizza, Parmesan used to sprinkle over spaghetti, provolone used in a sandwich, and ricotta used in lasagna.

In addition to the limited numbers of Italian cheeses we do eat, what we often find in the grocery store is nothing like the cheeses of Italy.

It may come as a surprise to you that the mozzarella that we often eat has no resemblance to Italian mozzarella. In Italy, mozzarella is made from the milk of the water buffalo. It is a fresh cheese that should be consumed within a few days of preparation. It does not have the long shelf life of the mozzarella we use that is made from cows milk. A lightly salted slice of fresh mozzarella is said to be a great complement to freshly baked bread. A common salad is made by combining slices of mozzarella with slices of tomatoes and dressing with basil and olive oil.

Of course it does not take a genius to recognize that the dried stuff in a shaker can is nowhere near the parmesan cheese of Italy. There parmigiano is prepared, pressed into cheese cloth and allowed to ripen for a full two years before being freshly grated and served.

Provolone is used as a table cheese in Italy. This cheese is also made from whole cows milk. The finished cheese is aged at least four months. The loaf is traditionally in a pear shape.

Another fresh cheese is ricotta. This cheese is easily made and dated back to Roman times. Made for whole milk, the cheese is sweet and often used in preparing deserts. If you want a real ricotta experience rather then watery, sour, part-skim ricotta sold by your grocer, try making your own. You will need cream, whole milk, salt and lemon juice. The first three ingredients are boiled together and the lemon juice is added to cause the mixture to curdle. The ricotta is allowed to drain through cheese cloth for about ah hour and drained until firm. Use the finished product within the next couple of days.

In Italy, Italians do not buy cheese at a grocery store but at a dairy store. Many of these stores make their own cheeses. This means that the fresh cheeses such as mozzarella or ricotta that is purchased may have been made earlier during the day.

There are many other Italian cheeses available. Some are local to one region. Italian blue cheese, veined like Roquefort, is said to be an excellent choice to melt with butter and garlic to serve over pasta.

The best way to experience many of the local cheeses of Italy is by spending time in the country. Experiment and find the cheeses that you like. When back home, you may not be able to find the exact cheese, but for many of the hard cheeses you will be able to order imports.