Antonio Carluccio, Priscilla Carluccio

Branzi

Appears in
top 1000Carluccio's Complete Italian Food
Carluccio's Complete Italian Food

By Antonio Carluccio and Priscilla Carluccio

Published 1997

  • About
This country cheese from the Brembana Valley in Bergano, Lombardy, is made from cows’ milk and comes in two varieties: one made with full-cream milk mixed with semi-skimmed and the other with just full-cream milk. The best is produced between June and July, when the cow have grazed on lush mountain grass.

The curds are twice cooked at 45°C (113°F), then broken. The curds are put into wooden moulds 40-45 cm (16-18 inches) in diameter and 9-12 cm (3½-4¾ inches) high, and pressed to squeeze out the whey. The moulds are then topped up before being put into a salt brine for 3-4 days. The ageing takes place in a temperature-controlled room at 10-13°C (50-55°F) and the cheeses are turned every second day for 3 to 6 months.