By infopadweb 3 April 2024
BITTO DOP
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DESCRIPTION, HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DOP
Bitto DOP is a full-fat, cooked, semi-hard cheese, made from raw alpine cow’s milk processed immediately after milking. According to its specifications, it must be produced exclusively with milk mainly from Italian brown breed cows, reared at a minimum altitude of about 1400 m. Specifications allow the addition of goat’s milk (up to 10%). The milk used to make this cheese must come exclusively from animals grazing in mountain pastures in the province of Sondrio and from some pastures in the provinces of Bergamo and Lecco. The secret ingredient? Its birthplace among the high-altitude peaks of Valtellina and its age-old processing. Two elements that combine to generate a unique and highly natural product that strongly reflects the characteristics of Alpine meadows.
PASTURE AND MILK PRODUCTION
From the 1st of June to 30th September, the herds are taken up to the high pastures, at altitudes of 1400 – 2000 metres, moving from intermediate to higher altitudes before returning down to the valley at summer’s end. During these three to four months of alpine grazing, the herd is led through a route in stages, from the lowest to the highest, in order to make the most of the pasture and its maturation times.
THE PROCESSING
Along the way, the traditional calècc, the ancient stone barns found only in the Bitto valley, provide a place to milk the cows by hand and process the milk immediately, before it disperses its natural heat.
This process results in the maximum expression of the local, spontaneous dairy microflora. The fresh, raw milk is coagulated with calf rennet. The curd is broken up until the clumps are the size of rice grains and then cooked in copper cauldrons at a temperature between 48 and 52 °C for about 30 minutes. Once extracted, the paste is placed in traditional fascere (moulds) that give it its characteristic concave side and pressed for about 10 hours. Salting is either dry or in brine.
SEASONING IN TWO PHASES
The maturation process begins in the ‘casere d’alpe’, typical storage structures found in the pastures of Valtellina, and is completed in premises at the bottom of the valley.
After the minimum aging period is reached, the cheese wheels that have passed the Consortium’s inspection are branded. Ripening lasts at least 70 days, but can also be extended for several years without altering the sensory and structural properties of the cheese.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BITTO
Bitto has a cylindrical shape, a diameter of between 30 and 50 cm and a concave side from 8 to 12 cm in height, with a weight ranging from 8 to 25 kg.
– Fresh Bitto shows a semi-hard paste of a white-to-straw yellow colour, is compact and has diffuse eye formation. The rind is thin, yellow and has a delicate and sweet taste.
– Mature Bitto has a hard, crumbly paste, straw-yellow in colour. It has an intense flavour that becomes stronger as it ages.
Consortium
Consortium for the Protection of Valtellina Casera and Bitto
Consortium for the Protection of Valtellina Casera and Bitto Cheeses – C.T.C.B. was founded on 2 October 1995, on the initiative of Bitto and Valtellina Casera cheese makers and other dairy producers in the province of Sondrio, with the aim of safeguarding the uniqueness of Valtellina DOP cheeses.
Leading this venture were 35 founding members, representing the production chains of these two DOP cheeses.
In 1996, the Protected Designation of Origin was obtained together with the approval of the respective Production Specifications (Regulation No. 1263 of 01/07/1996), which set out the exact timing, knowledge and rules to follow in order to guarantee the products and protect consumers. Since 1998, the certifying and guaranteeing body is the CSQA, in Thiene (province of Vicenza).
The production area of Valtellina Casera is the province of Sondrio, while Bitto is produced in all of the province’s mountain pastures and in some areas of the provinces of Lecco and Bergamo that border on Sondrio, in the area known as Pizzo dei tre Signori.
Among other statutory objectives, the Consortium pursues the protection and valorisation of the Valtellina Casera and Bitto DOP cheeses and the promotion of domestic consumption and exports.
The consortium’s many activities include
– providing adequate technical assistance to producers so as to foster ongoing product quality improvement;
– inspecting each single cheese wheel: only the cheeses that show the quality and typical characteristics envisaged by the production specifications will obtain the Consortium’s brand and be marketed within the DOP circuit
– supporting cheese makers and agers in fulfilling the obligations set forth in the Control Plans drawn by the certifying body on the basis of the Production Specifications
– supervising the production and trade of these cheeses, so as to also protect consumers by guaranteeing product ‘typicality’
– promoting the products by participating in local, national and international events and producing promotional and publicity materials.
To date, C.T.C.B. is the only consortium of protection in Italy that represents two DOP productions.
www.valtellinacaseraebittodop.it
info@ctcb.it
Tel. 0342 201984
Via Piazzi, 23, 23100 Sondrio
Recipe
POTATO, LEEK, APPLE AND BITTO DOP CLAFOUTIS
| 4 people Preparation: 25′ Cooking: 75′ |
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Ingredients:
– 400 g of potatoes
– 1 leek
– 2 Annurche apples
– 1 pinch of cumin seeds
– 200 g of Bitto Dop
– 2 sprigs of thyme
– 3 eggs
– 40 g of corn starch
– 1/2 liter of milk
– 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
– nutmeg
– black pepper
– salt
Boil the potatoes starting from cold water, for 30 minutes from the start of the boil, drain them and let them cool. Peel them and cut them into slices about a centimeter thick. Clean the leek, cut it into slices and cook it for 5 minutes on a low heat in a pan with oil and a pinch of salt. Remove the rind and cut the Bitto Dop into thin slices, wash and dry the apples, core them and cut into thin segments. Arrange all the prepared ingredients in a baking dish, beat the eggs with the corn starch, a pinch of salt, the crushed cumin seeds, a pinch of grated nutmeg, a pinch of salt and the milk and pour the mixture into the baking dish . Bake in a preheated oven at 180° for 30 minutes.
Regions
BITTO DOP
| Lombardy |  |
