Sagra del Bitto Mountain Cheese Festival in Gerola Alta

Gerola, the typical mountain village in the Valtellina Valley, is not only known for its cultural treasures, but also for the mountain cheeses & ldquo; Bitto & ldquo; , the so-called King of Mountain Cheese.
Every year after the cattle have returned from the mountain pastures, the traditional cheese festival & ldquo; Sagra del Bitto & ldquo; held in Gerola Alta.
The Bitto Cheese
One of the historical cheeses of Lombardy is the & laquo; Bitto & raquo; from the Valtellina.
Val Gerola belongs to the valleys of the Orobie, embedded in the regional park Orobie Valtellinesi, which represent a unique natural spectacle between green pastures and crystal clear mountain lakes. In summer the cows are led to the alpine pastures and mountain meadows. There they graze fresh forage that is rich in flowers and aromatic herbs and gives the milk an even better taste and higher fat content. Up here on the alpine pastures, the most unique cheese in Lombardy, the & laquo; Bitto & raquo; , as made in the days of great-grandmother.
This cow's milk cheese with boiled batter is dry-salted and has a delicate batter. The ripening period is at least seventy days, but it can also mature for a few years with excellent results.

The Bitto mountain cheese with DOP designation (denominazione di origine protetta-protected designation of origin) may only be produced in a certain area of the province of Sondrio and in some neighboring communities- and should be made during the summer with the milk of free-grazing Valtellina cows.

The original production area was probably the Val Gerola . According to tradition, the name "Bitto" comes from the river of the same name, which flows through the Val Gerola valley.

The milk is processed in the alpine huts immediately after milking and the molds are made into extra milk ; r provided stone basins are kept in which they mature until the end of summer, when the herds are driven back into the valley.
The & ldquo; Bitto & ldquo; cheese is mentioned in the famous Liber Laticiniorum from the 14th century, but some documents from the archive suggest that it was started as early as the 11th century. was customary.
The traditional festival has been held for a good thirty years and is now part of the most famous mountain cheese festival in Valtellina (Valtellina). At this real folk festival & ldquo; Sagra del Bitto & ldquo; you have the opportunity to taste the mountain cheese and enjoy the performances of the numerous folk music and dance groups.

More information about the production and meaning of the bitto can be found at :
www.bittocheese.com

Detailed information about & bdquo ; Sagra del Bitto & ldquo; and program can be found here!

Valtellina specialty tip:
Pasta made from flour, eggs and Sforzato wine, dressed with Bitto cheese, butter and cream.
The exact recipe with bitto cheese at Fettucine allo Sforzato con fonduta di Bitto you can read here.

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