🧀 Puzzone di Moena

Puzzone di Moena (in Ladin Spretz Tzaorì) is a semi-hard Italian washed-rind cheese with a protected designation of origin (PDO), made from cows' milk in the Fiemme, Fassa and Primiero valleys of Trentino. It belongs to the washed-rind cheeses and to the Italian cheeses section.

The milk is raw or thermised, sometimes partly skimmed by natural creaming, from Brown, Friesian, Red Pied, Alpine Grey, Rendena and Pinzgauer cows and their crosses. At least 60 % of the cows' feed must be forage from the production area, and silage is excluded. The whole process, from rearing and milk production to salting, rind treatment and maturing, must take place in the listed municipalities of the Province of Trento, plus Anterivo and Trodena in the Province of Bolzano.

The cheeses are periodically turned and washed in tepid, slightly salted water, which gives the unctuous rind that darkens from ochre yellow to light or reddish brown. A wheel is cylindrical, 34–42 cm across with a heel 8–12 cm high, and weighs 9–13 kg. The cheese is semi-cooked; the paste is elastic, white to light yellow, with a few small to medium holes. Fat is at most 45 % of dry matter and moisture 34–44 %. The taste is strong, slightly salty and/or sharp with a barely perceptible bitter aftertaste; the aroma is strong and penetrating with a slight hint of ammonia.

Puzzone di Moena or other strong-smelling cheeses? Smell alone does not identify it: this is a PDO washed-rind cheese with its own specification. It is made from cows' milk, raw or thermised, sometimes partly skimmed by natural creaming, in the Fiemme, Fassa and Primiero valleys of Trentino. The wheels are turned and washed in tepid, slightly salted water, which gives an unctuous rind. The paste is semi-cooked, elastic and white to light yellow, and the taste is strong, slightly salty or sharp, with a barely perceptible bitter aftertaste.

Look for “PDO Puzzone di Moena” stamped several times on the rind and the EU PDO symbol (protected designation of origin). The word “stagionato” is allowed after 150 days, and “di malga” only when all the milk comes from cows kept on mountain pastures. The rind ranges from ochre yellow to brown. It is sold whole or in portions, at a supermarket cheese counter, a delicatessen or a cheese shop.

The minimum maturing is 90 days; after 150 days the cheese may be called stagionato. The term di malga may be used only if all the milk comes from cows kept on mountain pastures. The wording PDO Puzzone di Moena is stamped several times on the rind, and the cheese may be sold whole or in portions.