Taleggio

What is Taleggio Cheese?

Taleggio takes its name from Val Taleggio in Italy. Cheeses like it go back to Roman times, and Cicero, Cato the Elder and Pliny the Elder all mention it in their writings. Until the late 1800s it was made only in the valley, after which some production moved south to the Lombardy plain. After 1992, cheesemakers in the valley tried to call their version Taleggio del Val Taleggio to set it apart from versions made nearby, then abandoned the attempt after a legal caution, since the name already held a protected designation of origin.

Production runs through autumn and winter. Acidified milk is mixed with rennet taken from milk calves, and the cheese is formed into square blocks that sit on wooden shelves in ripening chambers, sometimes in caves as tradition dictates. It matures within six to ten weeks. Once a week each block is washed with a seawater sponge, which holds back mould growth and builds an orange or rose crust. The ripening cheese has traditionally been kept in caves near Valsassina, where gentle breezes carry the moulds through the rind.

The rind is thin, edible and pinkish-brown. Inside, the paste is creamy and pale yellow. The aroma is strong, but the flavour stays comparatively mild, with an unusual fruity tang. Each square block is stamped with a four-leaf brand for the Consorzio Tutela Taleggio.

Only cheese produced in Lombardy or Piedmont may be sold as Taleggio. The smear-washing that gives the cheese its crust also leaves the surface open to contamination. Listeria found on Taleggio is usually treated as a post-manufacturing problem, because the surface microflora work against its development.