Introduction Casciotta d'Urbino DOP Bitto DOP

Beyond Wine: General Index

This month we present two cheeses which have received the European DOP recognition: the Casciotta d'Urbino from the Marches region, and the Bitto, a DOP cheese produced in the Alpine valleys of Valtellina and Valchiavenna, in the Lombardy region.

Casciotta d'Urbino DOP (Marches)
Protected Designations of Origin: DM August 4, 1995 – GURI n. 208 September 6, 1995 – Reg. CE n. 1107/96

Coagulation

The name Casciotta derives from from the ancient dialect word cascio, for the Italian word cacio, which is a synonym of the word cheese.

The first known printed documents which mention these type of cheese are related to the wedding banquets of the Sforza and Della Rovere noble houses, held in the current Marches region between the 15th and 17th centuries.

Arguably the most famous lover of this cheese of all times was the great artist Michelangelo, who had his faithful servant, Francesco Amadori from Castel Durante (nicknamed Urbino), acquire some rural properties in the Castel Durante area, just to make sure that he would never run out of his beloved casciotta cheese.

Manual Pressing

Characteristics of the Product
The Casciotta d'Urbino is a semi cooked cheese made with 70–80% sheep milk and 20–30% cow milk, both whole and pasteurized.

Very low in cholesterol, this cheese is a highly digestible product, with a high content of vitamins and antioxidants, which contribute to the slowing down of human cell aging.

Ready for Aging

The production method calls for milk coagulation at 35°C (37.4°F), after which the cheese is pressed manually into special forms. Salt is added to the dry cheese, alternating time between brine and dry addition of salt.

Maturation

The final product, which must be matured for at least 20 days, has the form of a cylinder with a diameter of 12 to 16 centimeters, is five to seven centimeters tall with rounded sides. The weight is from 800 to 1,200 grams (1.76 to 2.64 pounds.)

The rind, which assume a straw yellow color when aging is completed, is about 1 millimeter thin. The inside is soft and friable, the color is white, leaning toward light straw yellow, with small, characteristic holes.

Casciotta d'Urbino DOP

The flavor is sweet, full, pleasantly acidic and mellow.

The sheep and cattle which produce the milk for the Casciotta d'Urbino DOP are bred in the municipalities of Montemaggiore, Cartoceto, Sant'Angelo in Lizzola, and Colbordolo, that is, from about 20 kilometers from the Adriatic shore of the Mediterranean sea, to the Apennine range reaching toward Urbino and Montefeltro.

• Production Zone:
  The province of Pesaro–Urbino, characterized by meadows, pastures, prairies and plateaus.
• Producers' Organization:
  Consorzio Tutela Casciotta di Urbino
  c/o Comunità dell’Alto Medio Metauro
  Via Manzoni, 25 - 61049 Urbania, Perugia (Italy)
  Tel: (+39) 0721/87981
  Fax: (+39) 0721/87981
  email: cesaretti@casciottadiurbino.it

Bitto DOP (Lombardy)
Protected Designations of Origin: Reg. EE n° 1263, July 1, 1996

Bitto DOP

The Bitto is a typical cheese produced according to tradition, up in the high Alpine meadows known as alpeggi, or the pasture in the highland plateaus of Valtellina and Valchiavenna, where the peasants move their cattle in summer time.

The origin of this product dates back to when the ancient Celts were dislodged from the Pianura Padana, the fertile, flat plain beside the river Po, by the Romans. The Celts escaped to the highland valleys which offered the natural protection of the mountains and there, they dedicated themselves to agriculture and animal breeding, and created what is known today as Bitto cheese.

In fact, the name Bitto derives from the Celtic word Bitu, which means perennial, in reference to the extremely long shelf life of this type of cheese.

Characteristics of the Product
This is a semi cooked fat cheese is produced with cow milk immediately after milking during the summer stay in the alpeggi. Up to 10% of goat milk may be added to improve the texture and accentuate its distinctive aroma. The Bitto cheese is produced between June 1st and September 30 of each year.

The finished product is wheel shaped, with a diameter of 30 to 50 centimeters (11.8 to 19.7 inches), 8 to 10 centimeters (3.14 to 3.93 inches) of height, and concave sides with sharp corners. The weight ranges from 8 to 25 kilograms (17.6 to 44 pounds).

The rind is thick and the paste inside is sparsely pitted with partridge-eye holes. The color ranges from white to straw yellow, which becomes more intense with ageing, as the cheese becomes harder as well.

The flavor is sweet and delicate when young, but becomes sharper, spicier and more aromatic as the maturation proceeds. Aging, which lasts from a minimum of 70 days to a maximum of 15 years, begins in the Casere d'Alpe, or the cheese-making facilities high in the Alps where peasants and shepherds spend the summer, then continues in the lower valley facilities when they return for the winter.

Aging

• Production Zone:
  The province of Sondrio and the neighboring municipalities of the Alta Val Brembana.
• Producers' Organization:
  Consorzio per la Tutela dei Formaggi Valtellina Casera e Bitto
  Via Bormio 26 - 23100 Sondrio (Italy)
  Tel. 0342 210247
  Fax 0342 218733

• Beyond Wine: General Index