🧀 Monte Veronese

Monte Veronese is an Italian cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), made only from cow's milk in the northern part of the province of Verona, in Veneto. It is a semi-cooked cheese, cylindrical, with almost flat faces and a slightly convex side.

Two types. Whole-milk Monte Veronese (latte intero) is a table cheese made from whole milk from one or two consecutive milkings. It weighs 7 to 10 kg, is 25 to 35 cm across, with a side 7 to 11 cm high, and has at least 44 % fat in dry matter. The rind is thin, elastic and straw-coloured; the paste is white to slightly straw-coloured with small, evenly spread eyes; the taste is delicate and pleasant.

Monte Veronese d'allevo is made from partly skimmed cow's milk and can be eaten at the table or grated. It weighs 6 to 9 kg, is 25 to 35 cm across, with a side 6 to 10 cm high, and has at least 30 % fat in dry matter. The paste has scattered eyes, usually 2 to 3 mm, a little larger than in the whole-milk type; the taste is fragrant, typical of aged cheese, and tends to become slightly spicy with longer ageing.

Making and ageing. Both types are set with calf rennet in pellets and the curd is broken to the size of a grain of rice. It is then heated to 43–45 °C (whole milk) or 46–48 °C (d'allevo) and left to rest in the vat for 25–30 minutes. After about 24 hours of draining the cheese is salted dry or in brine. For the whole-milk type the specification gives a maturing of about thirty days, with a minimum of 25. For both types, ageing lasts at least 90 days for table use and at least six months for grating.

Monte Veronese or a similar hard cheese for grating? Searches look for substitutes, so compare by method. Monte Veronese is a semi-cooked PDO cow's milk cheese: set with calf rennet in pellets, the curd is broken to rice-grain size and heated to 43–45 °C (whole milk) or 46–48 °C (d'allevo). After about 24 hours of draining it is salted dry or in brine. Whole-milk Monte Veronese is a table cheese with at least 44% fat in dry matter; d'allevo, from partly skimmed milk, can be grated after six months. For other cheeses, check their own specification.

Look for “Monte Veronese” with the EU PDO symbol (protected designation of origin); at release for consumption each cheese bears the specific mark showing its geographical origin and the decree that recognised the name. Whole-milk wheels weigh 7 to 10 kg and d'allevo 6 to 9 kg, both 25 to 35 cm across. You will find it at a cheese counter, a delicatessen or a cheesemonger.

Zone and marking. Milk production and cheesemaking take place in all or part of the listed communes in the northern part of the province of Verona. At release for consumption each cheese must bear the specific mark showing its geographical origin and the decree that recognised the name.