Strachitunt

Strachitund – the name means “round stracchino” – has been made in Valbrembana since the latter half of the nineteenth century, but had practically disappeared by the 1970s. The tradition only survived thanks to the efforts of Guglielmo Locatelli from Reggetto di Vedeseta, supported by cheese maturer Giulio Signorelli. A few years ago, a small consortium was set up. The new group follows production regulations for this blue cheese and has boosted output from the previous 100 cheeses a year to today’s 50 a week. Milk from Bruno Alpina cows is coagulated using liquid calf’s rennet. The curd is milled into hazelnut-sized lumps, removed with a cloth and transferred to hoops in layers with 25-30% of the previous evening’s cold curd. Strachitund matures for two months after dry-salting. During maturation, the cheese is turned over periodically. After about 40 days, the cheeses are perforated on the top, bottom and side to encourage the uniform growth of mould. It features a wrinkled, thin rind, light brown in colour; with an aromatic, full-flavoured, occasionally mould-ripened body, pale to deep straw-yellow in colour. Its top and bottom are flat, 25 cm in diameter, it is generally 15-18 cm high with an average weight of 4-5 kg.Strachitund is typical of Upper Val Taleggio (province of Bergamo, Lombardy).