Robiola is an Italian soft- ripened cheese of the

Stracchino Stracchino (), also known as ''crescenza'' (), is a type of Italian cow's-milk cheese, typical of Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, and Liguria. It is eaten very young, has no rind and a very soft, creamy texture and normally a mild and delicate flavou ...

family. It is from the

Langhe The Langhe (; ''Langa'' is from old dialect Mons Langa et Bassa Langa) is a hilly area to the south and east of the river Tanaro in the province of Cuneo and in the province of Asti in Piedmont, northern Italy. It is famous for its wines, chee ...

region and made with varying proportions of cow's, goat's, and sheep's milk. One theory is that the cheese gets its name from the town of

Robbio Robbio is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km southwest of Milan and about 45 km west of Pavia. It is part of Lomellina traditional region. Robbio borders the ...

in the

province of Pavia The province of Pavia ( it, Provincia di Pavia) is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy; its capital is Pavia. , the province has a population of 548,722 inhabitants and an area of ; the town of Pavia has a population of 72,205. ...

; another that the name comes from the word ''rubeole'' (ruddy) because of the color of the seasoned rind. Varieties of Robiola are produced across

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

from the provinces of

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

, Asti and Alessandria and into Lombardy. It is one of the specialties of the

Aosta Valley , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...

. The taste and appearance of Robiola varies depending upon where it was produced. Robiola di Roccaverano DOP /

DOC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

has no rind and a slightly straw-yellow coloring with a sweet, yielding taste. Robiola Lombardia has a thin, milky-white to pink rind and tends to be shaped like small rolls. The cream-colored cheese underneath its

bloomy rind A bloomy rind is a cheese rind that is soft and fluffy and white in color. Cheese that uses '' Penicillium camemberti'' is prone to developing bloomy rind. Bloomy rind cheese can be described as having "mild and lactic" flavors that may resemble ...

has a smooth, full, tangy and mildly sour flavor, likely due to the high (52%) fat content. Its rind can be cut away, but is mild with no ammonia and adds a subtle crunch to the cheese. La Tur has a cake-like rind over a tangy-lactic layer of cream and is representative of Piedmont's Robiola style of cheese where the fresh curds are ladled into molds, and drain under their own weight before aging rather than by pressing with weights. Robiola from the Piedmont region is a fresh cheese, and is usually eaten on its own, or with a little honey. The cheese has a long history that is sometimes traced back to the Celto- Ligurian farmers of the Alta Langa: the virtues of a cheese from Ceba (today

Ceva Ceva, the ancient Ceba, is a small Italian town in the province of Cuneo, region of Piedmont, east of Cuneo. It lies on the right bank of the Tanaro on a wedge of land between that river and the Cevetta stream. History In the pre-Roman period t ...

) were extolled by the first-century

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

in his '' Natural History'', but any identification of that cheese with the Robiola of today must be speculative. However, in his ''Summa Lacticiniorum'', the fifteenth-century dairy produce expert Pantaleone da Confienza did describe the manufacture, and praise the quality, of a cheese with this name. Robiola is generally served as a table cheese, either alone or with oil, salt and pepper. It must be stored properly after being purchased, and will keep fresh for up to one month. Its tangy taste is attributable to being infused with the wild herbs on which the animals pasture. Robiola can also be used in cooking including famous Piemonte dishes such as "

risotto Risotto (, , from meaning "rice") is a northern Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetables. Many types of risotto contain butter, onion, white wine, and Pa ...

robiola" and "aglio robiola spaghetti" and other dishes. Special care should be exercised in properly storing the cheese (do not wrap in plastic, as the cheese can "choke" and spoil). It is best stored refrigerated unwrapped in its crust or wrapped in paper, and used within a week of purchase.

References

External links

ItalianMade
* "It's all in the blend for this Robiola", Janet Fletcher, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/7/0
San Francisco Chronicle Online

* Pliny on the cheese that might be Robiola in Book 11 of the ''Natural History'': **
at Perseus
**

{{Italian cheeses Italian cheeses Piedmontese cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses Goat's-milk cheeses Sheep's-milk cheeses Italian products with protected designation of origin Ark of Taste foods

See also

References

External links