Quartirolo Lombardo PDO Cheese

Quartirolo Lombardo is an early bird: the freshly milked milk from the cows of the farmhouses located in the cheese production area must be immediately collected. Once in the dairy, the milk starts its journey to become tasty Quartirolo. The curd is carefully broken the first time, left to rest for 5/6 minutes and then broken again until lumps the size of a hazelnut emerge from the entire mass. The curd is then placed in molds that are going to be the cradles of the prospective Quartirolo. After having lost all their whey, the shapes are “stewed”, i.e. stored in rooms with controlled temperature and humidity for a maximum of 24 hours.In the next stage, they are brought to the storehouse to be salted and then they begin to undergo the seasoning process that results in different finished products: you can either have a fresh Quartirolo, or one that has been seasoned for at least 30 days, with a pink rind that sets it apart from its “younger” brother. But what does Quartirolo look like? It is a white, sometimes lumpy cheese. When it is fresh, it has a delicately acid and savory flavor, whereas the taste is sweeter if the cheese is seasoned. Quartirolo also smells differently depending on the seasoning it’s undergone – or the lack thereof. Fresh Quartirolo smells like yoghurt, whereas if you sniff Quartirolo that has been seasoned for 30 days, you will smell boiled milk and mushrooms.

Quartirolo’s history is closely intertwined with the oldest agricultural cycles of the territory located between the Po Plain and the pre-Alpine valleys, between Bergamo and Lecco. It is a story of love and dedication. Its origins can be traced back to the 10th century CE, when local shepherds would herd their cattle to the mountains in the summer months until the beginning of autumn, to make sure that the animals always had fresh grass to eat.When they returned to the plain, the cows found a prize: “quartirola” grass, i.e. “the fourth grass”, grown after the third cut of the hay. It was an end-of-season grass, short and thick, imbued with the scents of the summer just passed, which gave the cows’ milk a very aromatic scent. The cheese made from this milk was therefore Quartirolo, as a tribute to the last blades of fresh grass before winter.