Silter 
Silter is a hard Italian cheese from the mountains of Lombardy, around the province of Brescia, made with unpasteurized cow's milk. It is named after the Val Camonica room where wheels are stored and aged, and it has held EU PDO status since 2015.
Giorgio Scalvini, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Key Facts
| Country of Origin | Italy |
| Specific Origin | Valle Camonica and Sebino Bresciano Mountain Communities, Province of Brescia |
| Protection | PDO (2014) |
| Milk Type | Cow's milk |
| Milk Treatment | Raw, partially skimmed |
| Fat Content | 27% to 45% in dry matter |
| Moisture Content | Not exceeding 40% |
| Rind | Hard, straw-yellow turning to brown |
| Texture | Firm, crumbly, not very springy, with small to medium-sized eyes |
| Flavor | Mild, without bitterness; full-bodied and/or strong notes in very mature cheeses |
| Aroma | Lingers in the nose and on the palate, typical of the production area |
| Colors | White in winter, bright yellow in spring and summer |
| Forms | Whole wheels, portions, grated, bite-size chunks, shavings, slices |
| Age | At least 100 days |
What is Silter Cheese?
Silter comes from the mountains of Lombardy, in and around the province of Brescia. It is traditionally tied to Valle Camonica and made from the milk of brown breed cows, which are common in the Brescia valleys. The name comes from a Lombard term of Celtic origin for the aging room in a malga, the mountain dairy where the wheels were kept.
Production covers the municipalities in the Montane Communities of Valle Camonica and part of the Sebino Bresciano area. Wheels made in the malghe on the Guglielmo and Maniva mountains, in the area of the Croce Domini Pass, and in the valleys of Case di Viso and Santa Apollonia at Ponte di Legno are especially prized.
The milk is used unpasteurized and comes from the summer months and September. The cheese is brined, then aged. Aging runs a minimum of 100 days, with six months given as the standard minimum for the matured cheese.
Wheels keep best in rooms that are not too warm, between 9 and 14 degrees Celsius. Silter received PDO certification within the EU in 2015.
How Does Silter Cheese Compare?
The most relevant cheeses to compare Silter against.
