Fontina Italian cheese is a wonderful table cheese as well as an excellent cheese for cooking. It is favored the world over for both its versatility and its taste. It also appeals to a wide variety of people because of its smooth and nutty taste. Fontina cheese is perfect in a wide range of recipes because it melts more evenly and smoothly than many other cheeses.
History of Fontina Cheese
Fontina cheese has been produced in Italy since the eleventh century. It is made from the milk of cows that graze in a particularly defined area in the northern Italian alps, near the borders of Switzerland and France. This area, the Aosta Valley, is the only place in the world where fontina cheese is made. Only cheese from the Aosta valley is permitted by Italian law to bear the name fontina.
Description of Fontina Cheese
In tems of color, fontina cheese ranges from ivory to golden yellow. It is produced in rounds and its texture is smooth and firm. The body of fontina is unevenly disrupted by very small holes.
Similar Cheeses
There are two other cheeses that are similar to fontina in both taste and appearance. These are fontinella and fontal. However, neither are produced in the Aosta valley, so they cannot be called fontina.
Caring for Fontina Cheese
Fontina should be refrigerated. The open cut on the cheese should be protected with tightly fitting plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Kept this way, it should last between four and five months. As it is stored, however, you can expect it to age naturally and become more pungent.
Fontina as a Table Cheese
Among its many uses, fontina is a traditional table cheese in Italy. This way, it is served with crusty Italian bread, fresh fruit, other table cheeses such as gorgonzola, black olives, and perhaps some crisp raw vegetables. To drink, choose a glass of light wine or iced tea to enhance the flavor of the cheese.
Fontina Italian Fondue
This Italian fondue (fonduta) is a traditional dish, made from fontina cheese. This fondue has been made for hundreds of years, probably because of the proximity between the Aosta Valley and Switzerland.
Ingredients
- Milk
- 8 ounces fontina cheese
- 2 tablespoons cream
- 2 lightly beaten egg yolks
- Stale crusty Italian bread or slices of Italian bread, toasted
Directions
- Place the sliced fontina cheese in a bowl and cover it with milk. Leave it for two hours.
- Drain the cheese but reserve the milk.
- Combine the cheese and cream in a medium saucepan, over low heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the cheese is melted.
- Add the reserved milk in small amounts if the mixture is too thick.
- Add the egg yolks, mixing constantly. Slowly cook until the fondue is smooth.
- Either dip chunks in the fondue and eat, or pour it over toast.
Fried Fontina Sticks
These fried cheese sticks make a wonderful appetizer. They are also excellent when served as a light meal with a salad.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour for batter
- 8 ounces fontina cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup flour for coating
- Extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 150 degrees F.
- Combine the flour, eggs and wine in a mixing bowl and stir until the mixture is well mixed.
- Cut the fontina cheese into sticks that are approximately 3" x 1.5" x 1/4".
- Place the cheese sticks in a paper or plastic bag with the coating flour. Shake well to evenly coat the cheese. It may work best to do this a few cheese sticks at a time.
- Remove the cheese sticks from the bag and place them in the mixing bowl with the batter.
- Heat about 1/8 inch of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
- Using tongs, remove the cheese sticks from the batter and fry them in the skillet. Turn them once, and cook until they are golden in color.
- Remove the cooked cheese sticks from the skillet and drain them on paper towels.
- As they cook and drain, place the fontina sticks in the warmed oven, in a shallow baking dish. Keep them warm until they are served and serve as soon as possible.
Related Articles
Gorgonzola Cheese: One of the Best Italian Cheeses
Italian Provolone Cheese: Facts and Recipes
Italian Mascarpone Cheese: Facts and Tiramisu Recipe
Sources
Gourmet Sleuth: Fontina Cheese
Dominioni, Valerie; Great Italian Cooking; Doubleday & Company, Inc.:1987
