Product Description

Fontina PDO is a typical cheese from the Valle d’Aosta, one of the Northern Regions of Italy. It’s a semi-cooked cheese, produced with cow’s milk from Valdostana cattle breeds. You can find it in whole forms, large pieces, and pre-packed slices, always with the Fontina PDO green mark.

Type of Milk: Cow (Valdostana breeds of cattle).

Production Area: Fontina PDO is entirely produced in the Region of the Aosta Valley, in the Alps. The milk produced in this zone is scented thanks to the combination of flowers, herbs and water that cows eat.

Appearance and Taste: Fontina PDO has a thin and compact rind with a brown color that varies in intensity depending on the age of the cheese. The texture of Fontina is elastic and soft. It’s rich on the palate with a sweet and delicate flavor.

Origins: First literature references to the Fontina are dated back to 1477. The name of this cheese seems to refer to some production from the Alps or from a town called “Fontinaz” or to the characteristic of the melt of the Fontina. This cheese was originally produced in the Alps to store milk during the winter, when poor families only had cows. In the 1800s the product started to be produced in cooperatives and in 1957 the Fontina Producers’ Consortium was established.

Production: Fontina PDO is produced with raw unskimmed milk, processed as quick as possible after the milking. Brought to a maximum temperature of 36°C/97°F, the milk is curdled with calf rennet. Then the curd is broken until the grains get to a very small size, after which it is reheated until it reaches a temperature of 48°C/118°F, stimulating the purging of the whey. At the end, the cheese is salted and ripened in cool, damp natural caves for at least 3 months.

Gastronomy: Fontina PDO is great as a table cheese but also as key ingredients of typical regional recipes such as Fondue or Polenta. In the fridge it should be kept in food bags with the cut end covered in foil. Suggested Wine Pairings: Chianti