Do you know the originof the term “stracchino”? In the Bergamo dialect, stracch means “tired”: it seems that this cheese takes its name by the cows’ (and the shepherds’) weariness after a hard working day during the transhumance period. Moving every day from one pasture to another (“cargà ‘l mut”) was a very hard task; when the shepherds had reached their stopover and could take some rest at night, they used to prepare stracchino cheese. The processing had to be very quick, as the herd had to be moved to another pasture the following day. Therefor, the cheese was immediately put into some wooden rectangular boxes, specifically manufactured in order to place them against the mules’ flanks: that is why this cheese was also called “strachì da viaz – travelling stracchino” during the XVIII Century.
It is the forerunner of the stracchini cheese family, which includes many delicious products: from the soft stracchini to the D.O.P. cheeses from Bergamo such as taleggio, quartirolo, salva, strachitunt and gorgonzola.
For centuries, the stracchino from Taleggio Valley has been considered the best one, as the first gastronomy guide Guida gastronomica del Touring Club highlighted already in 1931: therefor, all that types of cheese were called “Taleggio”, even though were are not made on site and they were processed using different methods.
Nowadays, the stracchino all’antica (literally “old-style stracchino cheese”) is produced with freshly milked milk, which used to be put into squared moulds and immediately carried away.
The Slow Food Presidium regulation states that the production area must be comprised within the original one: Brembana Valley, Serina Valley Taleggio Valley and Imagna Valley.
Stracchino all’antica is sweet at first, then salty and slightly bitter, sometimes even spicy. It has a very complex aroma, highly persistent: its fragrance reminds of cooked milk, melted butter, hay, fresh mushrooms, citrus fruits, stable, leather, meat broth and white pepper. It is quite soluble and just a little adhesive and wet.
You can prepare numerous dishes with stracchino all’antica, including lasagne and many sauces form delicious meat dishes. You can taste it along steamed vegetables or with polenta, a great classic made in Bergamo!
Do you know the originof the term “stracchino”? In the Bergamo dialect, stracch means “tired”: it seems that this cheese takes its name by the cows’ (and the shepherds’) weariness after a hard working day during the transhumance period. Moving every day from one pasture to another (“cargà ‘l mut”) was a very hard task; when the shepherds had reached their stopover and could take some rest at night, they used to prepare stracchino cheese. The processing had to be very quick, as the herd had to be moved to another pasture the following day. Therefor, the cheese was immediately put into some wooden rectangular boxes, specifically manufactured in order to place them against the mules’ flanks: that is why this cheese was also called “strachì da viaz – travelling stracchino” during the XVIII Century.
It is the forerunner of the stracchini cheese family, which includes many delicious products: from the soft stracchini to the D.O.P. cheeses from Bergamo such as taleggio, quartirolo, salva, strachitunt and gorgonzola.
For centuries, the stracchino from Taleggio Valley has been considered the best one, as the first gastronomy guide Guida gastronomica del Touring Club highlighted already in 1931: therefor, all that types of cheese were called “Taleggio”, even though were are not made on site and they were processed using different methods.
Nowadays, the stracchino all’antica (literally “old-style stracchino cheese”) is produced with freshly milked milk, which used to be put into squared moulds and immediately carried away.
The Slow Food Presidium regulation states that the production area must be comprised within the original one: Brembana Valley, Serina Valley Taleggio Valley and Imagna Valley.
Stracchino all’antica is sweet at first, then salty and slightly bitter, sometimes even spicy. It has a very complex aroma, highly persistent: its fragrance reminds of cooked milk, melted butter, hay, fresh mushrooms, citrus fruits, stable, leather, meat broth and white pepper. It is quite soluble and just a little adhesive and wet.
You can prepare numerous dishes with stracchino all’antica, including lasagne and many sauces form delicious meat dishes. You can taste it along steamed vegetables or with polenta, a great classic made in Bergamo!
It is produced year-round in Brembana Valley Taleggio Valley, Serina Valley and Imagna Valley.
Valcalepio D.O.C. red; Terre del Colleoni D.O.red Schiava or Franconia.
