Fontina cheese: nutritional values and dietary classification

The processing of Fontina PDO, in particular through the cheesemaking of raw milk, allows the respect for the characteristics of the constituents, which in turn leads to nutritional values of particular interest, making Valle d'Aosta cheese a complete food.

L’lactose-free, which is first lost in the whey and then the remaining part undergoes fermentation, is particularly suitable for those who are intolerant.

Also the seasoning makes Fontina PDO a particularly digestible cheese as the casein, the milk protein, is transformed into smaller, more easily assimilated molecules. Therefore, not only the production of a certain type of milk, but also its processing, make Fontina a complete cheese, a low cholesterol content e rich in vitamins and minerals. 

Let us look at these properties in detail.

Vitamins and nutritional values: perfect in the weekly diet

If there is one element that, before others, leaps out “to the nose”, it is the intense perfume that Fontina PDO releases and that lets you imagine the presence of a cheese rich in mountain cuisine full of combinations. However, what one does not smell or taste, at least not in such a perceptible way, makes a true gastronomic speciality such as Fontina PDO a cheese rich in quality nutritional values.

Its qualities, from a dietary point of view, are interesting. Meanwhile, it provides an excellent supply of vitamin A, important for vision, but also on cellular reproduction of tissues. Fontina PDO also contains a good amount of vitamin B2, which plays a fundamental role in the dynamics of energy processes. 

Mineral salts are also present in fair quantities. Prominent among them is the football, an important substance in the formation of bones and teeth.

From a protein point of view, Fontina PDO is in line with other cheeses of equivalent ripeness. The same can be said for cholesterol. 

Following the nutritionists' guidelines, For all these properties, Fontina AOC can be consumed once a week, with doses that can easily be half of what one would consume with a fresh cheese: to be considered unique dish or one second course, Fontina DOP in a pasta dish with vegetables can create the right balance between carbohydrates, proteins e vitamins. 

A slice of Fontina AOC? Like drinking a glass of milk

If you ask a mountain dairy farmer what it means to eat Fontina DOP, the answer, which is quite common, is that eating a slice of Fontina DOP is like drinking the milk from which it is made. Never is this statement more true since the nutrients of milk are perfectly present in the cheese from Valle d'Aosta but with an added value: it is lactose-free. The cows from which the milk comes are fed mainly on fresh fodder or hay, while silage is forbidden.

This characteristic is not only ethical: it ensures that the fats in cows' milk are exclusively at short/medium chain. A type of molecule that does not turn into cholesterol in the blood.

In general, one third of the fats contained in Fontina PDO are unsaturated and among these are a good amount of omega 3 and omega 6, valuable for the human organism.

Fats in cheese: high dietary value

Fontina PDO, produced using whole cow's milk, raw, without addition of additives remain one of the most genuine cheeses. It is a production that guarantees excellent digestibility and tolerance. How? Various sources, expressing the digestibility coefficient of cheeses semi-hard, of which Fontina PDO is one, consider it to be at a very high level. After a correct level of ripening, in fact, the digestibility of Fontina PDO is around around 95-97% for proteins and 92-95% for fats.

La slow ripening, more than three months, which occurs in the presence of salt, zero risk to health that may result from the use of raw milk. In fact, pathogenic bacteria would not survive in the paste beyond 60 days. 

As for the fat level of Fontina PDO, also have a high food value and are useful for human metabolism, obviously if consumed in the right proportion. If anything, it is wrong to think the opposite: it has been established that a diet completely devoid of fats is dangerous and therefore Fontina  PDO contributes to achieving certain essential balances.