Asiago

Appearance & taste

Asiago Fresco has a white to pale straw-coloured paste with distinct, irregular holes and a thin, elastic rind. The specification describes the taste as pleasant and mild. A wheel measures 30 to 40 cm in diameter, is 11 to 15 cm high and weighs 11 to 15 kg; the fat content in dry matter is at least 44 %.

Asiago Stagionato is smaller: 30 to 36 cm in diameter, 9 to 12 cm high and 8 to 12 kg. Its paste is straw-coloured or pale straw-coloured with small and medium-sized holes, and the rind is smooth and even. The taste is pleasantly mild and slightly spicy, and aromatic in cheese that has ripened for longer (“vecchio”).

Depending on the ripening time, the label may carry further terms: Fresco Riserva after more than 40 days, Mezzano after more than 4 to 10 months, Vecchio after more than 10 to 15 months and Stravecchio after more than 15 months. Some wheels also carry the term “Prodotto della Montagna”; their rind must not be treated with colourings or anti-mould agents.

Production

The cows are kept in the area of origin. At least half of the feed ration, calculated as dry matter, must be produced there, mainly as grass, hay and other forage plants; at least half of the ration must be roughage. A long list of feeds is prohibited, including rapeseed, beet leaves, fish and meat meal and silage from by-products. For cheese with the term “Prodotto della Montagna”, any kind of silage is prohibited.

Untreated, thermised or pasteurised cow’s milk is used. Breeding, production and ripening take place in the area of origin. Each wheel receives a numbered casein plate and is placed in moulds with a marking stamp that impress the logo – a cut wheel with a stylised “A” –, the dairy’s identification and the name “ASIAGO” repeated several times. On the Stagionato, an impressed letter shows the month of production. After the minimum ripening period, a fire brand is applied to the side. The marks on the rind must not be covered by film or bands.

Origin & history

The cheese was originally made on the Asiago plateau in the province of Vicenza, on the border with the province of Trento. According to the specification, production goes back to the year 1000. At the beginning of the 20th century it spread within a radius of about 80 km: breeders who had to resettle because of the First World War found suitable conditions for cattle breeding and cheesemaking there.

Today the area extends from the plateaus of Asiago, Lavarone, Vezzena and Folgaria across the Trentino mountains and the foothills down to the irrigated plain. The soils are mainly calcareous; at higher altitudes the unforested agricultural land is used entirely as meadow and pasture. Most of the cows are of the Frisona Italiana breed, followed by Bruna Alpina, Rendena and Simmental. The old art of cheesemaking has been passed down over time.