The Veneto. It's a province in northeastern Italy. A lovely place. Venice is the capital.
Ahh, Venice! One hundred and eighteen islands -- laced with canals, joined by bridges, and festooned with fabulous palazzos and basilicas -- hanging like a bunch of beautiful grapes off the Veneto coast.
They eat a lot of cheese there. And the cheese they eat a lot of is... Asiago!
The most well-known and distinctive of Venetian cheeses, Asiago (ah-zee-AH-goh) is made in the village of the same name in the Dolomite Mountains. It comes in large, wide wheels 7-9 inches high, 14-16 inches in diameter, and weighing 18-24 pounds. There are two kinds of Asiago: Asiago d'allevo (day-LEH-voh), which is sold outside of Italy, and Asiago pressato (prey-SAH-toh), which isn't.
Asiago d'allevo is made of skimmed raw cow's milk. Light beige in color, inside and out, with small holes all through it, its flavor is mild and milky with a firm texture that can be sliced, shaved, shredded, or melted. Asiago d'allevo is sold in three stages of ripeness: fresh (fresco... aged 2-3 months); medium ripe (mezzano... aged 3-5 months); and slow ripened (vecchio... aged 9 months or longer).
Asiago is a hardy cheese, good with salami, crusty bread, and good red wine. It's used a lot in the cuisine of the region -- grated for pasta, cheese sauces, and soups, chunked for salads, and eaten all by itself. (Myself, I like it by its lonesome.)
Get yourself a hunk and enjoy a taste of Venice!
The best source on the most heavenly of edibles comes from what I consider the "bible of cheese": Cheese Primer, by Steven Jenkins, Workman Publishing Company, Inc., copyright 1996.
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