Genuine Fontina is made only in the steep-sided Val d'Aosta in the Italian Alps. Fontina has a creamy brown rind which is thin and oily. The paste is smooth and buttery, when young. It has a pale straw color and a few small holes.
As the cheese matures for 7 months it becomes darker and much drier. Sweet and nutty, Fontina has a complex, balanced taste and a light aroma.
The preparation of this fine Italian gourmet cheese is a recipe that has been handed down over the centuries. It is made exclusively with raw, full-cream milk, from the Valdaostan breed of cows, fed on grass during the summer and local hay throughout the rest of the year.
The milk is made into cheese within 2 hours of milking so as to preserve all its genuine qualities and fragrance. The gourmet cheese is matured in caves; Fontina needs constant and daily care to ripen. For a new appreciation of the complexity and balance of the finest Italian gourmet cheeses; do try this original.