Taleggio cheese

Taleggio and similar cheeses have been around since Roman times, with Cicero, Cato the Elder, and Pliny the Elder all mentioning it in their writings. The cheese was solely produced in the Val Taleggio until the late 1800s, when some production moved to the Lombardy plain to the south.{{cite book|last=McCalman|first=Max|title=Cheese : a connoisseur's guide to the world's best|year=2005|publisher=Clarkson Potter|location=New York|isbn=1400050340|page=257}} The cheesemakers in Val Taleggio attempted to rename the cheese they produced as Taleggio del Val Taleggio ("Taleggio of Val Taleggio") to distinguish it from the more widely produced versions from nearby areas, but abandoned the attempt when they received legal caution against it, as the cheese already had a protected designation of origin.{{cite book|title=The cultural politics of food, taste, and identity: a global perspective|last=Ayora-Diaz|first=Steffan Igor|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|date=2021|isbn=9781350162730}}{{rp|74}}

The production takes place every autumn and winter. First, acidified milk is mixed with rennet taken from milk calves. The cheese is formed into square blocks and set on wood shelves in chambers, sometimes in caves as per tradition, and matures within six to ten weeks. It is washed once a week with a seawater sponge to prevent mould growth and to form an orange or rose crust. This smear-washing makes the cheese susceptible to contamination.{{cite book|title=Listeria, listeriosis, and food safety|last1=Ryser|first1=Elliot T.|last2=Marth|first2=Elmer H.|publisher=CRC Press|date=2007|isbn=9781420015188}}{{rp|456}} Listeria developing on Taleggio is typically considered to be a post-manufacturing contamination, as the surface microflora are inhibitory to its development.{{rp|456}} The ripening cheese has been traditionally stored in caves near Valsassina, in which gentle breezes within spread the moulds growing in its rind.{{cite book|title=World cheese book|last=Harbutt|first=Julie|publisher=Penguin Publishing|date=2015|isbn=9780744082609}}{{rp|136}}

Each square block is imprinted with a four-leaf brand representing the Consorzio Tutela Taleggio.{{rp|136}}

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{{Portal|Italy|Food}}

• List of Italian cheeses

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.taleggio.it/en/ The Consortium Protection Taleggio website]

{{Lombard cuisine}}

{{Italian cheeses}}

Category:Cheeses with designation of origin protected in the European Union

Category:Cow's-milk cheeses

Category:Italian products with protected designation of origin

Category:Lombard cheeses

Category:Smear-ripened cheeses