Bel Paese cheese
Encyclopedia
Bel Paese is a semi-soft Italian cheese
. It was invented in 1906 by Egidio Galbani who wanted to produce a mild and delicate cheese to sell mainly in Italy
. The name Bel Paese comes from the title of a book written by Antonio Stoppani
. It is Italian for "Beautiful Country".
Originally produced in Melzo
, a small village near Milan
in the Lombardy region, it is now made in both Italy and the United States
. Bel Paese is a cow's milk cheese. It matures for six to eight weeks, and has a creamy and light milky aroma. The color is a pale, creamy yellow. It is made in small discs, and is very similar to the French Saint-Paulin cheese and to German Butterkäse
.
It has a mild, buttery flavor for which it has been popularly eaten with fruity wine
s, such as dry red or white. It is favored by many as a snack or dessert cheese and melts easily for use on pizza
s or in casserole
s. It is often used as a substitute for mozzarella
cheese.
Genuine bel paese cheese can be determined by the wrapping. It has an image of the Italian geologist and paleontologist Antonio Stoppani
, whose geological treatise Il bel paese gave its name to the Galbani cheese; but while on the wrapping of the cheese made in Italy Stoppani's image comes with a map of Italy, cheese made in the United States has a map of the Americas.
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
. It was invented in 1906 by Egidio Galbani who wanted to produce a mild and delicate cheese to sell mainly in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The name Bel Paese comes from the title of a book written by Antonio Stoppani
Antonio Stoppani
Antonio Stoppani was an Italian geologist and palaeontologist. He died in 1891 aged 67Born in Lecco, he became professor of geology in the Royal Technical Institute of Milan, and was distinguished for his researches on the Triassic and Liassic formations of northern Italy.Among his works...
. It is Italian for "Beautiful Country".
Originally produced in Melzo
Melzo
Melzo is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 20 km east of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 18,400 and an area of 9.7 km²....
, a small village near Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in the Lombardy region, it is now made in both Italy and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Bel Paese is a cow's milk cheese. It matures for six to eight weeks, and has a creamy and light milky aroma. The color is a pale, creamy yellow. It is made in small discs, and is very similar to the French Saint-Paulin cheese and to German Butterkäse
Butterkase
Butterkase, meaning "buttery cheese" in German, is a semi-soft cheese, moderately popular in Germanic Europe, and occasionally seen throughout the rest of the cheese-eating world....
.
It has a mild, buttery flavor for which it has been popularly eaten with fruity wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
s, such as dry red or white. It is favored by many as a snack or dessert cheese and melts easily for use on pizza
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
s or in casserole
Casserole
A casserole, from the French for "saucepan", is a large, deep dish used both in the oven and as a serving vessel. The word casserole is also used for the food cooked and served in such a vessel, with the cookware itself called a casserole dish or casserole pan...
s. It is often used as a substitute for mozzarella
Mozzarella
Mozzarella is an Italian Traditional Speciality Guaranteed food product. The term is used for several kinds of Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting :...
cheese.
Genuine bel paese cheese can be determined by the wrapping. It has an image of the Italian geologist and paleontologist Antonio Stoppani
Antonio Stoppani
Antonio Stoppani was an Italian geologist and palaeontologist. He died in 1891 aged 67Born in Lecco, he became professor of geology in the Royal Technical Institute of Milan, and was distinguished for his researches on the Triassic and Liassic formations of northern Italy.Among his works...
, whose geological treatise Il bel paese gave its name to the Galbani cheese; but while on the wrapping of the cheese made in Italy Stoppani's image comes with a map of Italy, cheese made in the United States has a map of the Americas.