Bra Duro Cheese

Produced as a Italian farmhouse cheese from cow's milk, Bra Duro Cheese is a "sister" cheese to the Bra Tenero cheeses which differ only in the length of aging. A Bra Tenero cheese will be aged for slightly less than 2 months while a Bra Duro cheese ages for 3 months at a minimum and longer for some cheese producers enabling a sharper flavor to develop. The term Duro is the Italian word for rough or rugged, which is used to describe the coarse outer rind. Darker yellow in color and semi-firm to firm in texture, Bra Duro Cheese provides a cheddar-like flavor from a paste that is filled with numerous small eyes. Sharp and somewhat nutty tasting best describes the flavor from this cheese. It is a good cheese to use for snacking or for grating as a topping on pasta and casseroles. When paired with wine, this cheese goes well with a medium-bodied red wine or an amber beer.