Agrì di Valtorta cheese

Agrì di Valtorta is a small-size, fresh and pleasantly sour cow’s milk cheese. In the Valtorta valley, all of 12 farmers – owning 10-12 cows each – deliver fresh milk to the small local cooperative, which is the only place where the cheese can be produced. On day one, the milk is coagulated using a small amount of the whey from the previous day and a bit of rennet, then it rests. On the second day, the curd is placed in linen sheets which are left hanging in order to drain the whey. On the third day, it is put into molds for 24 hours. Finally, salt is added and the curd is shaped into small cylinders. This is a lot of work, especially when you think that the seasoning process then requires another 8 days.

You can use it in many recipes: as a filling for cannelloni or lasagna, but also with white meat or fish sauces, or in pies. If this is your first experience with this amazing cheese, you may want to try it alone to fully appreciate it! The taste is sweet at first, then a little sour and salty. Agrì’s aroma is initially similar to that of yoghurt and curd, then it changes to recall the scent of melted butter, grass, hay. Seasoned Agrì also presents notes of mushroom, dried fruit and hazelnuts. It is very soluble and not very adhesive, with an aftertaste and aroma of medium persistence.

The history of Agrì begins in Valtorta, a small town in Brembana valley. In times when the connections with the valley floor were anything but easy, local women kneaded a cheese mass that was called “pasta di agro” because of its slightly sour taste. They then put it into baskets or bundles and carried it along mountain paths on foot. They walked long distances up to Barzio, in nearby Valsassina (passing through Ceresola and Piani di Bobbio). There they sold the cheese mass to cheese merchants, who would use it to make small cheeses that were very similar to their contemporary counterparts.Agrì is called the “cheese of Valtorta women”. Do you know why? Because it used to be made only by women, probably due to its long processing, which spans three days.