Montasio Cheese

An Italian cheese traditionally produced as a farmhouse or creamery cheese, which was orignially made from sheep's milk. Today, this cheese is produced from two milkings of cow's milk. The first milking in the evening is partially skimmed to remove the cream before being mixed with milk from the morning milking. The removed cream becomes mascarpone, a spreadable mixture of cream used to flavor desserts and savory dishes.

As a fresh cheese, Montasio is pale yellow in color, and semi-firm creamy texture with small holes throughout. The flavor is somewhat fruity. When aged, the cheese becomes quite brittle and granular in texture with a stronger fruity flavor. This cheese is a good snacking cheese or when aged becomes a good grating cheese for pasta and other foods. This cheese is very similar to Piave cheese, another Italian cheese made from two milkings of cow's milk.