Milk
Quality and Perfume
Milk from the Aosta Valley: a unique combination of flowers, herbs and water
The nutritional benefits to human health of milk from grazing cows are significant compared to milk from cows raised on hay and grain. Among its many qualities, the high quantity of fatty acids, vitamins and minerals stands out.
The milk that gives origin to Fontina PDO encompasses all these characteristics. Only in this land, the combination of flowers, fresh grass and ultimately pure water on the mountain pastures and in grazing land gives the milk that special flavour. These high-quality nutritional elements and the aroma of milk can be found in the main cheese of these areas: Fontina PDO, which brings with it all the benefits of milk, in particular the high content of proteins and minerals allied to bone health (in particular calcium).
Mountain pasture cheeses
Mountain pasture cheeses, in particular, are made from the milk of cows reared high in the mountains during the summer season. Here, the animals develop their musculature as in the Valdostana Pezzata Rossa and enjoy a well-being that translates into good circulatory and pulmonary health, all of which has a positive effect on the quality of the milk that is produced.
On the mountain pastures, processing methods are still characterised by considerable craftsmanship and respect for tradition. Starting from the copper cauldrons that house the curd, to the use of cotton cloths to allow the whey to be drained. Finally, the Alpine climate allows the Fontina wheels to mature in natural environments.
Raw milk processing
Milking takes place twice a day: in the morning and in the evening the milk is collected to become delicious Fontina PDO cheese. Moreover, the milk that becomes Fontina PDO has another very important characteristic: it is processed raw. The processing of raw milk preserves unaltered the scents of the raw material and transfers them to the cheese, which then becomes an explosion of flavours for the palate.
