[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” video=”” padding_top=”60″ padding_bottom=”60″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n
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The history of Strach\u00edtunt <\/em>dates back to the dawn of time. After several centuries of national and international success, the cheese disappeared from the scene for a time. The last few years however have witnessed its rebirth, also due to the activities of Consorzio per la Tutela dello Strach\u00edtunt Valtaleggio<\/em>. Today it is a superior quality cheese, and one of the nine DOP cheeses from the Bergamo area.<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” video=”” side_padding=”60px” padding_top=”60″ padding_bottom=”60″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”50842″ img_size=”full” eltd_css_animation=””][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text]The Roman era<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”small” position=”left” color=”#000000″ border_style=”solid” width=”30″][vc_accordion active_tab=”” collapsible=”yes” style=”accordion” hide_icon=”no”][vc_accordion_tab title=”Cheese as a trading commodity” title_tag=”h5″][vc_column_text]In \u201cItalia descriptio<\/em>\u201d, the Roman scholar Strabo wrote that during the Roman period the inhabitants of the Orobic valleys, and in particular of the Brembana Valley (to which Taleggio Valley belongs), travelled to the larger towns to procure staple goods bringing with them resin, honey and cheese to trade with. It seems that the dairy industry was already thriving in the valleys of Bergamo during that period. [vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” video=”” padding_top=”60″ padding_bottom=”60″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text] Cheese-making techniques that go back in time [\/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text] The history of Strach\u00edtunt dates back to the dawn of time. After several centuries of national and international success, the cheese disappeared from the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"full_width.php","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\n
\nIndeed, along with with tree-felling and forestry, the breeding of dairy cattle and dairy activity have been the basic sources of livelihood for the people of Taleggio Valley since ancient times. The lack of minerals in the area has encouraged the development of alternative activities, such as grazing and cheese production[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_accordion_tab][\/vc_accordion][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”50844″ img_size=”full” eltd_css_animation=””][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text]The Middle Ages<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”small” position=”left” color=”#000000″ border_style=”solid” width=”30″][vc_accordion active_tab=”” collapsible=”yes” style=”accordion” hide_icon=”no”][vc_accordion_tab title=”Paying tax with cheese” title_tag=”h5″][vc_column_text]The production of cheese no doubt developed considerably during the Middle Ages. We know this because of a parchment from 1.380, a copy of which was seen by Francesco Biava Salvioni (C18th local priest and historian), reporting that the Valley was obliged to send the Duke of Milan \u201cducentum pensa casei boni pulchri ac bene axaxonati<\/em>\u201d, as a sign of submission. Given that two hundred weights were equivalent to 1400 kg (one weight was over 7 kg), this was a large quantity of \u201cwell-matured cheese, pleasing to the eye and taseteful\u201d. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_accordion_tab][\/vc_accordion][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” video=”” side_padding=”60px” padding_top=”60″ padding_bottom=”60″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”50847″ img_size=”full” eltd_css_animation=””][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text]The Renaissance<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”small” position=”left” color=”#000000″ border_style=”solid” width=”30″][vc_accordion active_tab=”” collapsible=”yes” style=”accordion” hide_icon=”no”][vc_accordion_tab title=”On the table of the Visconti family” title_tag=”h5″][vc_column_text]Today it is difficult to know with certainty which of the most famous cheeses produced in the Taleggio Valley, developed and refined over the centuries, would have been on the table of the Visconti Duke and his guests, and if these were goat, sheep or cow\u2019s milk cheeses. If they were cow\u2019s milk, as is more likely, they could have been Stracchino quadro<\/em>, mountain cheese or Strach\u00edtunt<\/em>.
\nThe cheese industry in the Taleggio Valley is also mentioned in reports from the 1500s. According to these documents, in the Taleggio Valley alone (thus excluding the Milanese territory of Vedeseta) there were \u201c500 dairy animals\u201d; it is worth keeping in mind that even the richest families would have had at most \u201c25 cows wintering on the Milanese plain\u201d.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_accordion_tab][\/vc_accordion][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”50846″ img_size=”full” eltd_css_animation=””][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text]Seventeenth and eighteenth centuries<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”small” position=”left” color=”#000000″ border_style=”solid” width=”30″][vc_accordion active_tab=”” collapsible=”yes” style=”accordion” hide_icon=”no”][vc_accordion_tab title=”The Bergamo farm workers are no longer alone” title_tag=”h5″][vc_column_text]The seventeenth century, and even more so the eighteenth century, saw intense developments in livestock farming. In addition to the permanent residents of Bergamo many people were involved in seasonal migration. Originally form the valley, seasonal migrants would leave the valley to go down to the plain with their livestock in the winter months, returning for the summer season to the high pastures where, as Giuseppe Locatelli (author of \u201cCenni ed Osservazioni sulla Vallata di Taleggio\u201d, a handwritten document from 1823) clearly tells us, they produced a consistent and diversified production of dairy products, including Stracchino<\/em>, Formaggella<\/em>, butter, mascherpe cheese<\/em> and, above all, mountain cheeses. Dairy farmers invested heavily in the Stracchino cheese during the brief period of time between the descent from the mountain pastures and when they left the plains. Those who remained permanently with their animals in the village also produced cheese during the winter; before being sold, they were seasoned to improve the taste of the resulting dairy products.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_accordion_tab][\/vc_accordion][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” video=”” side_padding=”60px” padding_top=”60″ padding_bottom=”60″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50850″ img_size=”full” eltd_css_animation=””][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text]The nineteenth century<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”small” position=”left” color=”#000000″ border_style=”solid” width=”30″][vc_accordion active_tab=”” collapsible=”yes” style=”accordion” hide_icon=”no”][vc_accordion_tab title=”\u201cRobbe di cacio squisitissime\u201d” title_tag=”h5″][vc_column_text]For what concerns the quality of the Taleggio Valley cheese production at the beginning of the 19th century we can learn a great deal form the vast travel literature of that time, in particular from the texts of Giovanni Maironi da Ponte who wrote: \u201cBe it the effect of tasty herbs or for any other cause, there [in Valle Taleggio, editor\u2019s note] the cacio cheeses are most delicious …\u201d.
\nSince the end of the eighteenth century there has also been a significant change in dairy production, especially since the summer production of mountain cheese was discontinued in favour of a greater production of square Stracchino<\/em>. These cheeses have received acclaim and recognition in national and international gastronomic fairs and are greatly appreciated by consumers. The ever-increasing demand for Stracchino <\/em>of Taleggio has even led to a name-change; in town it soon became simply Taleggio<\/em>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Stracchini from Taleggio in the restaurants of Paris and London” title_tag=”h5″][vc_column_text]Alongside a general increase in the production of Stracchino, there was also a significant production of what the local oral tradition \u2013 following the example of Strach\u00ec qu\u00e0der <\/em>(\u201csquare Stracchino\u201d) \u2013 called \u201cStrach\u00ec tunt<\/em>\u201d (\u201cround Stracchino\u201d). Strach\u00ec tunt<\/em> cheese was renowned at this time in Milan; it was even sent to England and Alexandria in Egypt from Lodi. And Stracchino <\/em>di Taleggio <\/em>was on offer in the best restaurants in Paris and London.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Revenge of the Strach\u00edtunt” title_tag=”h5″][vc_column_text]Despite stable prices of the main foodstuffs and improving conditions of the livestock, an 1889 report from the Chamber of Commerce concerning the conditions of the agricultural classes underlined the gravity of the agricultural crisis in the province of Bergamo. The report described how in the best eating places of the Taleggio Valley the traditional square Stracchino<\/em> had been almost completely abandoned in favour of the production of Strach\u00edtunt<\/em>, which was easier to place on the summer markets, especially in London. The Bergamo Alps produced a considerable quantity of dairy products; in particular, according to the report, every year 280 quintals of Strach\u00edtunt <\/em>were produced in Taleggio Valley and another 100 quintals of the famous stracchini quadri<\/em> of Taleggio.
\nThe increased production of Strach\u00edtunt <\/em>at that particular historical time \u2013 the end of the nineteenth century was a difficult period for farmers \u2013 could perhaps be justified by the higher market price and consequently increased profit for the producer.
\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_accordion_tab][\/vc_accordion][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” text_align=”left” video=”” side_padding=”60px” padding_top=”60″ padding_bottom=”60″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50854″ img_size=”full” eltd_css_animation=””][vc_separator type=”transparent”][vc_column_text]The twentieth century and the present day<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”small” position=”left” color=”#000000″ border_style=”solid” width=”30″][vc_accordion active_tab=”” collapsible=”yes” style=”accordion” hide_icon=”no”][vc_accordion_tab title=”From crisis to rebirth” title_tag=”h5″][vc_column_text]The production of Strach\u00edtunt <\/em>flourished in the period between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, even on the eve of the Great War, but then suffered a significant decline during the First World War, a decline that subsequently continued.
\nThere may have been a number of causes for the downsizing of production. One cause was probably a change in the market demand in favour of the old Strach\u00ec quader<\/em>, now universally known as Taleggio<\/em>, which was relatively easy to produce and fast to sell.
\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Leaving the mountains” title_tag=”h5″][vc_column_text]A grave crisis in the mountain communities followed the great revolution after the Second World War and the subsequent industrialization and urbanization process, along with the economic boom and the lack of structural and infrastructural investments in favour of people and mountain activities. The mountain villages emptied and the traditional working methods that had been fine-tuned over the centuries \u2013 and that still had a role in the local and indeed international economy\u2013 were downsized or abandoned.
\nThe Taleggio Valley was not spared, and few villages have resisted. A few young people have given up the lure of more remunerative activities in favour of maintaining ancient traditions, trying to combine them with modern techniques, adapted to new needs and new demands.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_accordion_tab][vc_accordion_tab title=”Hope for the future” title_tag=”h5″][vc_column_text]Despite the crisis, fortunately, at least in Taleggio Valley, cheeses linked to its centuries-old dairy tradition have not completely disappeared. This is especially true for the Stracchino quadro<\/em>, but also for the Strach\u00edtunt <\/em>which for a few decades had been exclusively produced for consumption by connoisseurs or for the family.
\nThe unique character of the Strach\u00edtunt <\/em>comes from the air and water of the valleys, their bouquets and meadows. Thanks to the ancient processing technique to which the producers have remained faithful \u2013 produced first by a few farmers and later by the agricultural cooperative Sant\u2019Antonio di Reggetto which has improved the production process, it has gradually become popular with the more cultivated consumers and has received the attention of the press and the mass media. These are extremely positive developments for the local farmers and cheese company and gives hope for their future, for their families and for the valley.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_accordion_tab][\/vc_accordion][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"