Salva | |
---|---|
Country of origin | Italy |
Region | Lombardy |
Town | Crema |
Source of milk | Cow |
Pasteurized | No |
Dimensions | Triangular shape with 11–19 cm (4.3–7.5 in) long sides and 9–15 cm (3.5–5.9 in) short end |
Weight | 1.3 to 5 kg (2.9 to 11.0 lb) |
Aging time | Usually 3–5 months, although sometimes 8–12 months, and up to 36 months |
Certification | PDO |
Salva cheese from Crema is a PDO table cow's milk cheese made with raw curd. It is a washed-rind cheese that undergoes a medium or long aging period.
Salva is traditionally eaten in the central plain of Lombardy and produced particularly in the area of Crema, Bergamo, and Brescia. [1] It is also produced in the provinces of Lecco, Lodi, and Milan. Salva has many similarities to Quartirolo, though differs from it by having longer aging and a major aromatic complexity.
Salva's name comes from the idea of salvare il latte (lit. 'saving the milk'), which is the tradition of saving the plentiful milk left over from the process of cheesemaking in spring, which is then used to produce Salva cheese. It is also called Salva cremasco (lit. 'Salva from Crema') because of its origin and traditional consumption in Crema, although today it is more often produced elsewhere. [1]
Its origins date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, when it becomes possible to identify the parallelepiped profile of Salva on some decorative truckles. These truckles were straw-white in color and had a thin crust and very rare eyes (called occhiature), also associated with modern Salva cheese. [2] Salva is closely connected with the seasonal transhumance that bergamini (shepherds from Bergamo) undertook with their cows, coming down from the valleys of Bergamo and Brescia towards farms in the lowlands in autumn, and returning to the valleys in spring. During these trips the cows produced more milk than could be consumed, particularly in spring, necessitating its transformation into strachì da Salva cheese so that it could be preserved in summer. [3] It seems that warlord Bartolomeo Colleoni enjoyed this cheese so much he had some truckles delivered to him during his military inspection of Crema's fortifications.
Full-cream pasteurized milk is used in Salva production. Its coagulation at 36 °C (97 °F) lasts 30 minutes. The curd is then chopped twice into very small pieces. Finally, the bulky mass is put in a damp location for 8–16 hours. Aging lasts either 3–5 months (in this case the product has an aromatic and fragrant flavour), or 8–12 months. There are rare truckles aged up to 36 months. Sometimes the crust is flavoured with pomace. [1] Salva truckles have a parallelepiped shape with a plain squared side 11–13 cm (4.3–5.1 in) or 17–19 cm (6.7–7.5 in) long, and a straight bowed side 9–15 cm (3.5–5.9 in) long. The average truckle weighs 1.3 to 5 kg (2.9 to 11.0 lb). The crust is washed with water and salt. Cheeses aged for a longer time are oiled. In the past, linseed oil was used for this purpose. In this way some yellow mildew builds up, penetrating the crust and increasing the flavour. [1] The cheeses are typically branded with the capital letters S and C.
On 21 November 2002, [2] the consortium for the safeguard of the Salva Cremasco was established, and Salva was granted protected designation of origin status due to its uniqueness and traditional method of production.
The most typical preparation of Salva in the Crema area is Salva con le tighe (Salva with pickled green Lombard peppers). The Salva is cut in little cubes and served with tighe cut into large strips without seeds, and a small amount of olive oil. The combination is left to rest before consumption according to taste; it is thought too much oil makes the cheese macerate. [4]
Salva can be used in a variety of dishes from starters to desserts, and from first to second courses.
Lombardy is an administrative region of Italy that covers 23,844 km2 (9,206 sq mi); it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is located between the Alps mountain range and tributaries of the river Po, and includes Milan, its capital, the largest metropolitan area in the country, and among the largest in the EU.
Giacomo Francesco Zuccarelli was an Italian artist of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He is considered to be the most important landscape painter to have emerged from his adopted city of Venice during the mid-eighteenth century, and his Arcadian views became popular throughout Europe and especially in England where he resided for two extended periods. His patronage extended to the nobility, and he often collaborated with other artists such as Antonio Visentini and Bernardo Bellotto. In 1768, Zuccarelli became a founding member of the Royal Academy of Arts, and upon his final return to Italy, he was elected president of the Venetian Academy. In addition to his rural landscapes which frequently incorporated religious and classical themes, Zuccarelli created devotional pieces and on occasion did portraiture. Besides paintings, his varied output included etchings, drawings, and designs for tapestries as well as a set of Old Testament playing cards.
Parmesan is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cow's milk and aged at least 12 months.
Goat cheese, goat's cheese or chèvre is cheese made from goat's milk. Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for producing food. Goat cheese is made around the world with a variety of recipes, giving many different styles of cheeses, from fresh and soft to aged and hard.
The province of Cremona is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital city is Cremona.
Crema is a city and comune in the province of Cremona, in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is built along the river Serio at 43 km (27 mi) from Cremona. It is also the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Crema, who gave the title of city to Crema.
Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Roman times and later spread around the world together with waves of Italian diaspora. Some of these foods were imported from other cultures. Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize and sugar beet—the latter introduced in quantity in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known and most appreciated gastronomies worldwide.
Neapolitan cuisine has ancient historical roots that date back to the Greco-Roman period, which was enriched over the centuries by the influence of the different cultures that controlled Naples and its kingdoms, such as that of Aragon and France.
The cuisine of Sardinia is the traditional cuisine of the island of Sardinia, and the expression of its culinary art. It is characterised by its own variety, and by the fact of having been enriched through a number of interactions with the other Mediterranean cultures while retaining its own identity. Sardinia's food culture is strictly divided into food from the land and food from the sea, reflecting the island's historical vicissitudes and especially its geographic landscapes, spacing from the coastline to the ragged mountains of the interior. The Sardinian cuisine is considered part of the Mediterranean diet, a nutritional model that was proclaimed by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.
Italian meal structure is typical of the European Mediterranean region and differs from Northern, Central, and Eastern European meal structure, though it still often consists of breakfast (colazione), lunch (pranzo), and supper (cena). However, much less emphasis is placed on breakfast, and breakfast itself is often skipped or involves lighter meal portions than are seen in non-Mediterranean Western countries. Late-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, called merenda, are also often included in this meal structure.
Lombard cuisine is the style of cooking in the Northern Italian region of Lombardy. The historical events of its provinces and of the diversity of its territories resulted in a varied culinary tradition. First courses in Lombard cuisine range from risottos to soups and stuffed pasta, and a large choice of second course meat or fish dishes, due to the many lakes and rivers of Lombardy.
Michele Marziani is an Italian novelist and journalist.
Quartirolo Lombardo is a soft cheese made with cow's milk, which has a Protected designation of origin (PDO) status.
Christmas in Italy begins on 8 December, with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the day on which traditionally the Christmas tree is mounted and ends on 6 January, of the following year with the Epiphany, and in some areas female puppets are burned on a pyre, to symbolize, along with the end of the Christmas period, the death of the old year and the beginning of a new one. 26 December, is also a public holiday in Italy. The Italian term Natale derives from the Latin natalis, which literally means 'birth', and the greetings in Italian are buon Natale and felice Natale.
Ligurian cuisine consists of dishes from the culinary tradition of Liguria, a region of northwestern Italy, which makes use of ingredients linked both to local production, and to imports from areas with which, over the centuries, the Ligurians have had frequent trade.
The cuisine of Basilicata, or Lucanian cuisine, is the cuisine of the Basilicata region of Italy. It is mainly based on the use of pork and sheep meat, legumes, cereals and vegetables, with the addition of aromas such as hot peppers, powdered raw peppers and horseradish. The local gastronomy is, for historical-cultural reasons, typically peasant, based on simple recipes and on the culture of reuse, in particular of meat and bread.