Fontina d'Aosta (fawn-TEE-nah DAOW-stah)
True Fontina d'Aosta is an Italian semi-firm cheese with the deep, rich flavor found in cheeses made from top quality raw cow's milk. This Fontina is firm--never wobbly, shiny, or bulging, like some cheeses that are marketed as "Fontina" but are far from it.
Not to say that some Fontina-style cheeses can't be quite fine. Some Italian varieties, such as Galbani and Mauri (from Lombardy), and Carmognola (from Piedmont), are very good, indeed.
Fontina mixes beautifully for use in cooking. For example, Fontina is renowned as the main ingredient in fonduta, the Italian delicacy similar to Swiss or French cheese fondue. While fondue is eaten from a communal pot using bits of bread, meat, and vegetables stuck on the end of long-handled forks, fonduta is whipped and poured onto individual plates filled with rice, boiled potatoes, polenta (Italian corn meal mush), and cooked or raw vegetables. Fonduta combines Fontina with butter, eggs, and white truffles to produce a dish of unsurpassed deliciousness.
Because Fontina combines so well with other ingredients, it's easy to forget that it's also one of those "good for all occasions" cheeses that can stand alone or be eaten with a combination of meats and fruit. Try it for lunch sometime with a nice crusty loaf and a glass of red wine. And enjoy!
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