Price range: £2.45 through £14.70
Taleggio PDO is a wonderfully creamy Italian washed-rind cheese with a famously pungent aroma but a surprisingly gentle, buttery and fruity flavour.
Taleggio PDO is one of those cheeses that proves you should never judge a cheese by its smell. Its washed rind can be wonderfully pungent, but underneath you’ll find a soft, creamy cheese with a surprisingly gentle, fruity flavour.
It comes from northern Italy and takes its name from Val Taleggio, a valley near Bergamo in Lombardy. Cheese has been made in this part of Italy for centuries, originally as a practical way of preserving milk as cattle moved down from their summer Alpine pastures.
Over time, what began as a local farmhouse cheese became one of Italy’s best-known washed-rind cheeses. And despite its rather impressive aroma, Taleggio remains remarkably easy to love.
Taleggio has a very long history, with cheeses resembling it being made in Lombardy from at least the Middle Ages.
Traditionally, the cheeses were matured in the cool, humid caves of the region, where the conditions encouraged the development of their distinctive rind. Today, most Taleggio is matured in purpose-built ageing rooms, but the principle remains much the same.
Taleggio is made from whole cow’s milk and formed into distinctive square cheeses. During maturation, the rind is regularly washed and cared for, encouraging the bacteria that give it its characteristic pinkish-orange colour, slightly sticky texture and unmistakable aroma.
And this is one of those occasions where the smell really can be deceptive. Taleggio might smell quite strong when you unwrap it, but the cheese itself is usually far gentler than you’re expecting.
Taleggio has Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status, protecting both where it can be produced and how it is made.
Production is restricted to designated areas of Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto, and the cheese must be made from whole cow’s milk according to the rules of the PDO.
There’s also a rather lovely way of identifying the real thing. Look closely at the rind and you’ll see four circles arranged in a square. Three contain the letter T, while the fourth carries the identifying number of the producer.
It’s effectively Taleggio’s little passport stamped straight onto the cheese.
The texture is one of my favourite things about Taleggio. When it’s younger, the cheese is relatively firm and springy, but as it ripens it becomes wonderfully soft and creamy, particularly just underneath the rind.
And then there’s the smell.
That washed rind can give you quite a punch when you first unwrap it, with earthy, yeasty and sometimes slightly meaty aromas. But don’t let that frighten you because the flavour is much gentler.
I get butter and warm milk first, followed by mushrooms, hay and a lovely fruity tang. There’s a little saltiness and plenty of savoury depth, but it never becomes aggressive.
It’s actually one of the cheeses I like to give people who tell me they don’t like “smelly cheese”. Once they’ve got past the aroma, they’re often amazed by how approachable it is.
Jen’s note: Taleggio is a brilliant reminder that the smell of a cheese doesn’t necessarily tell you how strong it’s going to taste. Its rind can be pretty pungent, but underneath it’s creamy, fruity and surprisingly gentle. If you think you don’t like smelly cheese, this might just be the one that changes your mind.
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Ingredients (Allergens are listed in capitals)
MILK, starter cultures, rennet, salt.
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