OSSOLANO
"Ossolano" cheese is the highest expression of the cheesemaking traditions of the extreme north of Piedmont, made from the milk of cows born, bred and fed exclusively in the Anzasca, Antrona, Divedro-Antigorio-Formazza, Isorno and Valle Vigezzo valleys fanning out over the Val d'Ossola.
It is a full-fat, raw or pasteurized cow's-milk cheese with a consistent and elastic texture, aged for at least sixty days from the initial processing of the milk. It is cylindrical in form with a straight or slightly convex sides, with flat or almost flat top and bottom.
It has a smooth, regular, straw-coloured rind that tends to darken as the cheese ages. Ossolano is easily recognized also thanks to its characteristically harmonious and delicate aroma - linked to the seasonal varieties of the flora that becomes more intense and fragrant as it ages.
Small farms supply the milk from cows fed on forage almost completely produced within the defined area. The milk is then processed in small community dairies that also undertake the aging process.
The product remains faithful to the local history and traditions, reflecting the deep relationship that thrived between the original peoples and the Walser who, having settled in the Ossola mountain territories, developed their own cheese-making techniques. These techniques were also dependent on the particular climate, meaning that the productive process includes a necessary semi-cooking phase to allow the whey to better escape the curds.
"Ossolano" cheese production is characterised by the semi-cooking method - as well as the pressing - as it favours the selection of a specific milk microflora that greatly affects the subsequent aging phases in the cheese factory and aging rooms lending it its typical irregular holes (smaller than a grain of rice) as well as the characteristic consistency of its compact, elastic texture. Its appearance makes it stand out from other Piedmont cheeses of the same size and dimension.
"Ossolano d'Alpe" DOP cheese is made with milk produced and processed in alpine pastures of the defined territory, at altitudes of at least 1,400 metres above sea level.
It is a full-fat, raw or pasteurized cow's-milk cheese with a consistent and elastic texture, aged for at least sixty days from the initial processing of the milk. It is cylindrical in form with a straight or slightly convex sides, with flat or almost flat top and bottom.
It has a smooth, regular, straw-coloured rind that tends to darken as the cheese ages. Ossolano is easily recognized also thanks to its characteristically harmonious and delicate aroma - linked to the seasonal varieties of the flora that becomes more intense and fragrant as it ages.
Small farms supply the milk from cows fed on forage almost completely produced within the defined area. The milk is then processed in small community dairies that also undertake the aging process.
The product remains faithful to the local history and traditions, reflecting the deep relationship that thrived between the original peoples and the Walser who, having settled in the Ossola mountain territories, developed their own cheese-making techniques. These techniques were also dependent on the particular climate, meaning that the productive process includes a necessary semi-cooking phase to allow the whey to better escape the curds.
"Ossolano" cheese production is characterised by the semi-cooking method - as well as the pressing - as it favours the selection of a specific milk microflora that greatly affects the subsequent aging phases in the cheese factory and aging rooms lending it its typical irregular holes (smaller than a grain of rice) as well as the characteristic consistency of its compact, elastic texture. Its appearance makes it stand out from other Piedmont cheeses of the same size and dimension.
"Ossolano d'Alpe" DOP cheese is made with milk produced and processed in alpine pastures of the defined territory, at altitudes of at least 1,400 metres above sea level.
