Bitto Storico (Historical Bitto) cheese

Bitto Storico (Historical Bitto) is a cheese obtained from cow’s whole raw milk (from Braunvieh cows) mixed with raw goat’s milk (from Orobica breed goats) in percentages varying between 10 and 20%. It is a cooked-milk, semi-hard or hard cheese, depending on the duration of the seasoning (the longer it is, the harder the cheese becomes). The goal is to preserve traditional processing methods as long as possible, following the natural pace of land and animals alike. The cows are hand-milked to reduce their stress as much as possible and a shift pasture system is still implemented: during the three pasture months, the herd is led along a route consisting of different stages, from the lowest to the highest station. Along the way, the traditional “calècc” – age-old stone buildings protecting the cheese-making area – act as travelling processing workshops, always close at hand. This way, the milk does not have to travel long distances, and it can be processed before its natural heat dissipates. It is forbidden to use supplements when feeding the cattle. Likewise, the use of additives, preservatives or selected enzymes in cheese production is strictly forbidden. The seasoning process spans at least 1 year, but sometimes it can last for over 10 years. The rich golden color of the paste turns to hazelnut brown when the seasoning is longer. It has a very intense aroma, which reminds one of melted butter, fermented hay, meat broth. Seasoned Bitto tastes a little spicy. The texture is soluble and grainy, with highly persistent taste and smell.

Historical Bitto’s origin story is action-packed. It was created in 1994 by a group of cheese-makers who did not accept the PDO status extending the production area of this cheese to the entire province of Sondrio. They then founded the Historical Bitto Slow Food Presidium to preserve the ancient production techniques that risked being replaced by modern ones. In 2014, 20 years after the outbreak of this controversy, two official Consortia existed, one of which was and is still devoted to the protection of Historical Bitto. At the Protection Consortium headquarters you can even find a “cheese bank”, where you can buy a fresh wheel and then leave it to be seasoned at the dairy for several years. If you like, you can also customize your wheel with writings, dedications or drawings made with blueberry juice: a tailor-made cheese! Historical Bitto is produced only in mountain workshops (from 1400 to 2000 m asl) and only in summer (60-90 days). The mountain workshops located in the Bergamo area are: Alpe Foppa, Alpe Parissolo, Alpe Ancogno Soliva, Alpe Calvizzola.