Product Information
The mountains around Verona, the Monti Lessini, are particularly well suited to pasturing cows, with gentle grassy slopes and a long growing period. The local cheeses are almost always made using milk that has already been skimmed for butter production. The term “Monte” in the name probably refers to the production technique, which involves the processing of milk from multiple milkings (monte in dialect). Mountain Pasture Monte Veronese, which is suited for aging, is made in Alpine dairies (malghe) with milk from grazing cows, while typical Monte Veronese can be made with the milk of cows living indoors at lower elevations.
The Monte Veronese di Malga DOP is aged for at least 10 months before we get it. The cheese is made using raw milk from cows that have been feeding on the lush pastures of the mountainous Lessinia region. This cheese is also part of Slow Food Presidia, which has a focus on preserving traditional foods around the world. The cheese has notes of tropical fruit, hay and a subtle sweetness that is at once nutty and fruity. Cheese made from mountain-pasture milk is often not properly valued. Several decades ago, there were over 100 mountain pastures in the Lessini mountains, but they have now been transformed into holiday homes or are used for grazing beef cattle. The milk produced by cows grazing in the mountain pastures is often mixed with milk from cows kept indoors. The Presidium unites a few dairies that have decided to separate the milk produced in the Lessini pastures and to make Malga Monte Veronese, to promote its quality.
Region: Veneto, Italy
Milk: Unpasteurised Cow
Size: approx 250g wedge cut to order