Taleggio and Smear-Ripening Cheese

Taleggio is a semi-soft Italian cheese from the Val Taleggio region of Lombardy in the foothills of the northern Italian Alps.  We feel we can take at least some credit for its popularity around here since we introduced it to Gainesville some time ago and have kept it as a staple here ever since.  Being complementary with good European red wines is probably a factor also.  

While red wine affinity is what we look for in cheese, Taleggio also pairs well with white wines, fruit, nuts, honey, crusty bread, risotto, polenta, fondue and cured meats.  At this point you might ask, is this the only cheese I will ever need?  Since it even works on pizza AND as a dessert cheese, well, yeah, it very well may be all you need!  Are we salivating yet?

Taleggio cheese dates to the ninth century making it one of the oldest soft cheeses.  It has its Italian legal protection (PDO) as the only cheese allowed to be made in the Val Taleggio.  However, because cheese is a commercial product, it may now be made elsewhere.  It is a cow's milk cheese that is fruity and buttery when young but develops a spicy complexity with age and that's where the smear-ripening comes into play.

Smear-ripening is the same process as hand-washing the rind of a hard cheese.  Just different terminology.  The young cheese in this case is in a square mold and gradually forms a pinkish-brown rind around its pale yellow interior.  To prevent mold they brush a brine mix on the cheese weekly, lifting and turning the cheese to cover all sides as its firmness allows.  This gives Taleggio its unique nutty, savory, tangy and bitter flavors overlaying the intrinsic simplicity of the cheese.  The depth of flavors created by smear-ripening is matched by its pungent aromas, all of which makes this cheese a centerpiece worthy of being paired with an equally special red wine.