Brace yourselves: the gorgonzola it's a Piedmontese cheese! No, I have not suddenly gone mad, but it is the statistics that confirm this unusual claim. In 1996 theXNUMX-XNUMX business days certified the typical cheese with mold as a DOP productand an gorgonzola DOP it is produced exclusively with cow milk coming from some areas of the Lombardia and Piemonte. Among these, the primacy belongs to Piedmont provinces di Biella, Cuneo, Vercelli, Novara, Verbania e Alexandria. By pitting the data, it turns out that about the 65% of production belongs to Piedmont side.
In Lombardy, on the other hand, it stands at 21% in the province of Lecco, and only 8% in the province of Milan. Right here is also the homonymous city of Gorgonzola.
In short, the gorgonzola it is in all respects a Piedmontese cheese!
The origins of gorgonzola and the adventure of a careless shepherd
Because we are oriented to believe that the gorgonzola both a Lombard product, rather than a Piedmontese cheese? In the first place due to the presence of the homonymous city in province of Milano, and then for the legend around its origins. According to seeds the origin of cheese with mold It dates back to 879. A young shepherd from the town of Gorgonzola, he forgot one in a damp cellar fresh curd to run to his beloved. After the fleeting meeting, however, he realized the mistake. He then decided to remedy it by adding a new curd to the morning one. The result he got the next day was a cheese with a particular and unmistakable taste.
By chance he was born the gorgonzola! Some scholars, on the other hand, trace the origin of the Piedmontese cheese (now we can tell!) at the locality of Pasture in Valsassina. Despite the geographical debate, it is certain that the production took place in autunno. In this period the cows returning from the area were milked transhumance. The original name of the cheese was stracchino of Gorgonzola. The term "stracchino"Is precisely in reference to cows tired, or tired after the journey from the heights to the plains. Until 1500 the gorgonzola it simply remained a local product. Subsequently with the implementation of communication routes, such as ships e water channels, began to spread throughout the northwest. In this way, new production and maturing centers were also developed in the nearby area Piemonte.
Gorgonzola: a Piedmontese cheese that is the symbol of Italy
Starting from the 900s throughout the Po Valley they developed important seasoning centers. In these places the seeds with important technologic innovations to obtain an improvement of the productive yield and quality. The spinneret it originated from dairies and from dairies scattered throughout the area. The milk was collected from here, and brought to these great centers so that the gorgonzola seasoned in time and with the appropriate methods.
The improvements are also reflected in the growth in the value of exports. Approximately 100 thousand quintals of gorgonzola worldwide. The most popular destinations turn out England, France e Germany. The British prefer the mild and pungent taste of spicy gorgonzola, while the Germans and the French prefer the more marked flavor of the sweet gorgonzola. That the gorgonzola be a Piedmontese cheese or less it doesn't matter. Its distinctive feature remains the penicillium roqueforti. What is that? The typical green mold that gives that unique and unrepeatable flavor. Before anything else the gorgonzola represents aItalian excellence.
