Taleggio

Taleggio a soft, mould-ripened Italian cheese of the stracchino family. It takes its name, which is a controlled denomination, from the Taleggio valley in Lombardy. It has been made there only since the 1920s; but has a longer history, for it was formerly a local product of another district near Bergamo.

A Taleggio cheese is in the form of a quadrangular parallelepiped, with sides measuring about 20 cm (8") and a weight of 2 kg (4 lb). Of all Italian cheeses Taleggio is the one closest to a French soft cheese. It is made by a process akin to those used for camembert and neufchâtel. As with the latter, the white mould on the surface turns reddish after a while. The fat content is at least 40 per cent and the flavour mild and lightly aromatic.