THE
GENUINE DAIRY PRODUCTS OF THE ALPINE HUTS
Nowadays lots of people try to have a healthy diet and to pay attention to what they eat: according to the fact that the request of healthy and genuine products makes itself felt and thanks to its nutritive value, the cheese produced in alpine huts is becoming very appreciated.
While promoting the reclamation of the millenary wisdom of the rural world and preserving the integrity of the territory, the alpine huts of Eastern Valsugana and Tesino appear as “factories” of products which are symbol of the mountain. Indeed these products represent the local tradition because they are made according to the ancient method. The cheese made in such structures was, and still is, the best means to keep the tastes of the mountain pastures, because during the making process natural properties are not lost. The quality of the grazing land where cows pasture has a great role as the mountain grass can transfer particular tastes and smells to the milk and, consequently, to the cheese. This “phenomenon” is due to the botanic composition of the local microbical flora: the micro-organisms existing in grass influence decisively the final features of the cheese.
A particular kind of cheese, named “Nostrano”, is produced in every alpine hut of the Trentino region. Exactly as the different dialects, also the Nostrano cheese changes its characteristic features - its taste, its smell and its colour - from a valley to an other. This change depends on the diet of the cows and the manufacturing technique of the malghese. As a result, the cheese made with the milk of grazing cows has its own personality and guaratees a link with its original environment. This is a synonim of “typicality” and ensures that cheeses are not at all standardised.
In the alpine huts of Eastern Valsugana and Tesino also butter has still a great importance and for its production all the fat components of milk are used. For this reason the cheese produced by the local malghesi is low-fat and has a light yellow paste.
Nowadays lots of people try to have a healthy diet and to pay attention to what they eat: according to the fact that the request of healthy and genuine products makes itself felt and thanks to its nutritive value, the cheese produced in alpine huts is becoming very appreciated.
While promoting the reclamation of the millenary wisdom of the rural world and preserving the integrity of the territory, the alpine huts of Eastern Valsugana and Tesino appear as “factories” of products which are symbol of the mountain. Indeed these products represent the local tradition because they are made according to the ancient method. The cheese made in such structures was, and still is, the best means to keep the tastes of the mountain pastures, because during the making process natural properties are not lost. The quality of the grazing land where cows pasture has a great role as the mountain grass can transfer particular tastes and smells to the milk and, consequently, to the cheese. This “phenomenon” is due to the botanic composition of the local microbical flora: the micro-organisms existing in grass influence decisively the final features of the cheese.
A particular kind of cheese, named “Nostrano”, is produced in every alpine hut of the Trentino region. Exactly as the different dialects, also the Nostrano cheese changes its characteristic features - its taste, its smell and its colour - from a valley to an other. This change depends on the diet of the cows and the manufacturing technique of the malghese. As a result, the cheese made with the milk of grazing cows has its own personality and guaratees a link with its original environment. This is a synonim of “typicality” and ensures that cheeses are not at all standardised.
In the alpine huts of Eastern Valsugana and Tesino also butter has still a great importance and for its production all the fat components of milk are used. For this reason the cheese produced by the local malghesi is low-fat and has a light yellow paste.
