Mozzarella
Mozzarella at its best is wonderful indeed. Mild, fragrant, delicate - combined with tomato, fresh basil and good olive oil it is a summer meal in itself. Traditionally made in southern Italy of the milk of water buffaloes (introduced into Italy from India in the 16th century) - it is now made world wide from cows milk, with varying degrees of success. The plastic, spun-curd buffalo milk cheese Mozzarella, originated from southern Italy. Pasteurized milk is curdled at 90 degrees F and the curd is cut. Extra time in the vat is allowed so that the curd can sink to the bottom and so that the lactic acids can soften the curd to make it easier to knead. The curd is treated with extremely hot water (200 degrees F) and is kneaded into a shiny lump. Bits of the mass are taken off cooled salted and are soon ready to be marketed. Special food sections will carry it, best packaged in its own salty water.
Mozzarella di Bufala
Mozzarella di Bufala is a creamery, stretched curd cheese made from mixture of buffalo's and cow's milk in the south of Italy. It has an oval or spherical shape of various sizes and it is wet, shiny and pure white. Like most fresh cheeses, mozzarella is used to add texture rather than a specific taste to a dish. The juices oils and flavors of the other ingredients are absorbed and intensified by the mild, moist open layers of spun curd. The cheese is sold swimming in whey. It is soft and rubbery and stored in a whey brine. It is best served with sliced tomatoes and fresh basil drizzled, with extra virgin olive oil , and sprinkled with salt and pepper.
Mozzarella Fresh, in water
The cheese has a delicate taste with a white color. It has a soft, creamy, smooth texture. This cheese is usually eaten for snacks or it is excellent mixed with salads, fresh tomatoes or other vegetables. Sometimes it can have the shape of balls and the cheese is then called Bocconcini.
Mozzarella Rolls
Fresh mozzarella, prepared jelly-roll style with chopped olives.
Pannerone
Panera means "cream" in Italian and Pannerone is one of the creamiest cheeses available. Milk is curdled at 89 degrees F and gently stirred as the curd forms. The stirring releases whey and also helps the mass to grow firm. The curd drains for 12 hours in cheese cloths, and placed in a heated environment of upwards of 80 degrees F for one week. The temperature is dropped to 50 degrees F for another week and the cheese is immediately ready for market. Pannerone has a smooth taste with a hint of bitter bite. Sometimes mistaken for Gorgonzola, due to its shape, however, Pannerone does not have veins.
Parmesan (Parmigiano)
Named after the town of Parma in northern Italy, Parmesan is one of the world's most popular and widely-enjoyed cheeses. Milk used for Parmesan is heated and curdled in copper containers but not before most of the milk's cream has been separated and removed. Curd is cut and then heated to 125 degrees F, all the while stirring the curd to encourage whey runoff. The curd is further cooked at temperatures of up to 131 degrees F, then pressed in cheesecloth-lined moulds. After two days, the cheeses are removed and salted in brine for a month, then allowed to mature for up to two years in very humid conditions.
Parmigiano Reggiano
Pamigiano-Reggiano is a traditional, unpasteurized, hard cheese made from cow's, skimmed milk. It has a shape of a drum with sticky, hard, yellow to orange rind. Parmigiano Reggiano weighs 75 lbs. and must be cut by a saw. The aroma is sweet and fruity, the color fresh yellow and the taste - fruity, like pineapple. Parmigiano Reggiano's flavor is unmistakably piquant. Primarily, a grating cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano is a great topping for soups, pasta dishes, veal chicken or salads. In Italy, this cheese is sold in large, grainy chunks, chiseled from the shiny drum that carries its name emblazoned on the rind. In Italy, this cheese is sold in large, grainy chunks, chiseled from the shiny drum that carries its name emblazoned on the rind. It is so valuable that trucks carrying a load of Parmigiano have been hijacked at gunpoint.
Pecorino
Pecorino is the name given to all Italian cheeses made from sheep's milk. Pecorino Romano is the name given to cheeses from the Rome area, Pecorino Sardo is from Sardinia, Pecorino Siciliano from Sicily. It is traditional, creamery, hard, drum-shaped cheese. The smooth, hard rind is pale straw to dark brown in color. The cheese is made between November and late June. Pecorino Romano is larger than most cheeses of this type and must be pressed. It takes eight to 12 months to mature, during which time it develops its characteristic flavor - salty, with a fruity tang that becomes steadily more robust. The rind varies in color, depending on the age of the cheese, and may have a protecting coating of lard or oil. The compact interior is white to pale yellow, with irregular, small eyes. Pepato is a variety spiced with peppercorns.
Pecorino in Walnut Leaves
A hard aged Italian sheep's milk cheese wrapped in leaves, perfect with bread and red wine (and not at all like Pecorino Romano, another Italian sheep cheese most people are familiar with). It is not salty and best enjoyed slivered, with olives on a hot day.
Pecorino Romano
Pecorino Romano is made from sheep's milk. It is straw-white in color and has a sharper flavor than the other cheeses listed here. Although it is sometimes referred to as "Locatelli" Locatelli is a brand name of Pecorino Romano. Pecora in Italian means sheep and Pecorino Romano is one of Italy's oldest cheeses. Legend has it that a shepherd filled his flask with sheep's milk before a long trip and the motion during the trip caused the milk to naturally ferment. The idea for a new cheese was born. Today most Pecorino is made in Sardina Italy. With its fine flavor Pecorino's popularity as a grating cheese has grown significantly in the U.S. Since sheep only give milk for 6-7 months a year all production must satisfy the public's demand for the entire year.
Pressato
Cheese of various shapes and sizes made from cow's milk. With age the rind changes its color from pale straw to golden yellow. This is a favorite Italian cheese and it simply means "pressed". This is a name for cheeses made from skimmed or semi-skimmed milk. They are sold young, when they have a sweet-sour and milky taste.
Provolone
Provolone is an all-purpose cheese used for cooking, dessert purposes and even grating. It is traditional, creamery, stretched, curd cheese. This cheese appears in various shapes. The thin, hard rind is golden-yellow and shiny. Sometimes it is waxed. Provolone cheese can be of various types. Dolce (mild Provolone) is aged for two to three months, and it is supple and smooth with a thin waxed rind. Provolne cheese can be of various types. Dolce (mild Provolne) is aged for two to three months, and it is supple and smooth with a thin waxed rind. It is generally used as a table cheese. Aged for six months to two years, it is darker with small holes and a spicy flavor.
Quartirolo Lombardo
Italian creamery, semi-soft cheese of square shape. It is made from cow's milk and the pale pink rind hardens with age and acquires reddish-gray moulds. The cheese has its name according to the region where it is being produced. This kind of cheese is made all year round, usually from full-cream milk. The cheese has a slightly crumbly, lumpy center. Quartiolo Lombardo can be eaten at various stages of ripening. When young, the cheese has a lemon- fresh acidity. After the period of two months, the taste of the cheese reveals a fruity character. This cheese is served with salads and cold meats.
Ragusano
One of the most favorite Italian cheeses produced in Sicily. The cheese usually has a shape of a brick and it is made from unpasteurized cow's milk. The curd is heated and stretched until it is rubbery. Then it is pressed into rectangular moulds and the cheese is left to dry. Salted and rubbed, the cheese is ready for affinage that takes six months. During this period of time it is regularly rubbed with a mixture of oil and vinegar. After this period of time the cheese hardens and the taste becomes stronger and more savory.
Raschera
Raschera is an Italian cheese that comes from Cuneo. Its name is derived from Lake Raschera, which lies at the foot of Mt Mongioie. It is a semi-soft cheese made from sweet cow's milk. The flavour of Raschera changes from season to season. Spring and summer cheeses are sweet, fresh and slightly tart. Winter cheeses are more solid and vibrant. Raschera has a round or square shape with reddish-yellow crust.
Ricotta
Traditional, creamery, whey cheese made from cow's or sheep's milk. It is a basin-shaped cheese, pure white and wet but not sticky. Good Ricotta should be firm, not solid and consist of a mass of fine, moist, delicate grains, neither salted nor ripened. It is white, creamy and mild and is primarily used as an ingredient in lasagna. It is primarily made with cow's milk whey which is heated to 170 degrees F. Citric acid is added to encourage destabilization and separation and the temperature is quickly raised to 185 degrees F. Proteins from the whey separate rise and coagulate; the proteins (lactalbumin) are skimmed off and put in a wicker basket to drain for two days after which the "cheese" is ready for market. There are three distinct varieties of ricotta: ricotta salata moliterna (ewe's milk whey), ricotta piemontese (cow's milk whey + 10% milk) and ricotta romana (a byproduct of Romano cheese production).
Romano
One of the oldest Italian cheeses. It is made by a special method, known as "rummaging curd" or draining the curd quickly after molding, then piercing the surfaces slightly before salt is applied. In Europe, Roman is known by its original name Pecorino-Romano. The cheese has a fat content of 27 per cent and water content of 32 per cent.
Scamorza
Traditional, creamery, stretched, curd cheese made from cow's milk. It is smooth and shiny, traditionally made in a money-bag shape. This cheese resembles Provolne. It is rubbery, with a stringy texture and is drier than mozzarella. Sold young, within two or three days of making, it has a bland, milky taste. The smoked version, Scamorza Affumicate is more popular than the plain and is often used in pasta dishes. It is also served with ham, mushrooms or vegetables. The name of this cheese has somewhat macabre overtones: scamozza is an expression in southern Italy which means "beheaded", it is meant here to describe the cheese's appearance (tied in a rope bag).
Sottocenare al Tartufo
The Sottocenare al Tartufo is a little firmer in texture, all cow's milk, but packs an equal truffle punch, with the added flavor of having been aged in an edible vegetable ash rind with nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, licorice, cloves, and fennel rubbed in.
Taleggio
Buttery, delicate, semi-soft and subtlety sweet cheese from Italy made from cow's milk. It usually has a square shape. The cheese has a special taste and aroma. The crust is pinkish-gray and the paste is white, supple and fruity. It ripens in 25 - 50 days and has a fat content of 48 per cent. There is also a cooked-curd version which is firmer and bears a resemblance to Mozzarella. Taleggio is also known as Stracchino (from the Italian stracche (fatigued) which referred to the cows of the area after travelling back to the valley from their grazing season in the high pastures. Taleggio is an excellent dessert cheese that goes very well with a robust wine.
Toma
Toma is an Italian cheese from Piedmont region. It is a semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk. It exists in several versions depending on a period of maturation. The young cheese is sweet and milky, but if it is allowed to mature for up to 12 months, the flavour becomes more tangy, often sharp. Toma available in Britain has a soft, leathery rind and tastes fresh and creamy.
Toscanello
Semi-hard cheese with a smooth rind and a whitish paste. The flavor of the cheese is mild, slightly sharp.
Ubriaco
Traditional, hard cheese made from cow's milk. The name of the cheese means "drunken" in Italian and it is because the young cheese is soaked in wine, covered with the crushed grape skins left after pressing and then allowed to mature for six to ten months. The cheese has a firm, crumbly but open texture that is fairly wet and the taste has a hint of pineapple.
Zanetti Grana Padano
The word Grana means "grainy" or "granular" because this is how the cheese looks when it is cut open. Grana Padano, an Italian cow's milk cheese would be easily recognized for another reason - the wheel is enormous, usually ranging from 70 to 88 pounds. Controlled by the Grana Padana Consorzio Zanetti, Grana Padano is aged a minimum of 18-months. It carries a mark on the cheese. This is a special four leaf clover and indicates the province of origin. Look for the Zanetti mark to ensure you are buying the best. Grana Padano could be called the body builder. It is low in fat and very high in protein and calcium. It is easily digested because during the maturation process its proteins are broken down into amino acids.
Zanetti Parmigiano Reggiano
Zanetti Parmigiano Reggiano is the King of Cheese, one of Italy's finest products. With its rich, nutty taste and distinctive aroma, it is used by the finest chefs in food preparation. But it is equally delicious to eat with fruit, crackers and wine or sprinkled on pasta, rice or soup.
