Bitto - Cheese

What is Bitto?

Bitto is a summer Italian cheese, fat, cooked and semi-hard, produced in Valtellina (Lombardy). It owes its name to the Bitto river, a stream that originates in Gerola Adda and after only 16 km (near Morbegno) it enters the river Adda.

The production area of ​​Bitto includes several territories in the province of Sondrio (from the Spluga valley to Livigno, some municipalities of the Brembana Valley, the Gerola Alta, Albaredo and the valleys of San Marco).

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Types

Types of Bitto

There are two types of Bitto:

• Historic rebel bitto, produced using the traditional method
• Bitto PDO (Protected Designation of Origin, since 1996), produced in compliance with a more recent specification.

Nutritional properties

Nutritional characteristics of Bitto

The chemical composition of Bitto is distinguished by the high percentage of fat, which - on the dry substance - does not go down over 45%, while the average humidity at 70 days of seasoning (minimum time) is about 38%.

Bitto is a food product that belongs to the II fundamental group of foods, that of milk and derivatives.

Together with those of group I (meat, fish and eggs), the foods of group II have the function of providing proteins of high biological value, that is rich in essential amino acids. In addition, they help increase the intake of calcium, phosphorus and vitamin B2 (riboflavin).

On the other hand, Bitto is also very rich in fats, which provide as much as 78% of the total food calories. With its 410 kcal per 100g, this cheese is an extremely energetic food and must be taken with a frequency of occasional consumption and moderate portions, especially in case of overweight. Moreover, containing a lot of cholesterol and having a distribution of fatty acids in favor of the saturated, it does not lend itself to nutrition for hypercholesterolemia.

Like all cheeses, Bitto also contains a lot of sodium, which comes from the salt used in seasoning. This mineral, if in excess, can aggravate the primary sodium sensitive hypertension. It should also be remembered that the remarkable concentration of Bisso minerals, even if it may be advantageous for a healthy organism, is a negative aspect for those suffering from certain kidney diseases that should not be underestimated.

The cheese contains small amounts of lactose, which could trigger an adverse reaction for the most sensitive intolerant subjects. Gluten is absent. Its consumption lends itself to the lacto-vegetarian philosophy but not to the vegan one.

To conclude, in healthy conditions, Bitto is a food that can be eaten twice a week and in portions equal to or less than 80 g (about 330 kcal), as a dish (to replace, NOT in addition, with meat, fish or eggs).

Food

Gastronomic uses of Bitto

Bitto, as a well-structured cheese, lends itself to being consumed individually; it is therefore a much appreciated "cutting" cheese.

Used in the kitchen, it must be treated as the main protagonist. Stuffed or accompanied antipasti with Bitto sausages (for example choux) are excellent, as are typical first courses (for example pizzoccheri, spatzle, gnocchi, buckwheat bigoli).

Among the main courses, some recipes based on meat in a pan are renowned, enriched with melted Bitto (for example pork medallions or veal escalopes).

The vegetables that are best suited to accompany Bitto are cabbages and the like (cabbage, cap, broccoli, Brussels, etc.) and pumpkin.

Food and wine pairings of Bitto

Bitto can be accompanied by different types of wine.

They are also very different depending on the composition of the meal or recipe: Alto Adige Pinot Noir, Breganze Cabernet, Chianti Classico, Gattinara, Nebbiolo d'Alba, Rosso Piceno Superiore, Torgiano rosso riserva and Valtellina Superiore.

Description

What does the Bitto look like?

The shape of the Bitto is cylindrical, irregular and with a concave heel for the rebel historian. The maximum diameter is 30-50 cm long, while the heel is 8-12 cm high. The total weight of a form of Bitto is between 8 and 12 kg.

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The Bitto pasta is white in color, tending to straw yellow, depending on the seasoning. Inside it has a sparse eye with a partridge eye shape.

The rind is compact, with a more intense and 2-4 mm thick yellow.

The taste of Bitto is sweet, delicate, highly aromatic that recalls the mountain herbs.

Production

Bitto production process

After milking, calf rennet is added to the milk.

The curd is then cooked between 48 and 52 ° C for about half an hour, after which it breaks, is extracted and placed in special circular strips to drain.

It is then salted, dry or in brine, and the minimum aging period of 70 days begins in the mountain pastures and ends at the bottom of the valley.

Finally, the forms are identified and marked.

Differences between the Bitto DOP and the rebel Bitto

The milk used for both types of Bitto is fresh, whole and the result of two milkings (morning and evening). However, the production of the two cheeses is distinguished by at least two aspects.

Contrary to what normally happens, the production of Bitto PDO is less restrictive than that of the historic rebel Bitto (Slow Food presidium. Let's see the main differences:

• For Bitto PDO it is also possible, optionally, to use goat's milk in quantities not exceeding 1/10 of the total. On the contrary, goat milk is indispensable for historic rebel Bitto. Some types of historical rebel contain up to 20% of goat's milk and, if properly processed, are prepared for a ten-year maturing.
• The Bitto DOP (typical of the province of Sondrio and Bergamo) is produced with cows and goats fed on the mountain pastures also through the integration of special feeds (no more than 3%) and hay (only for help). For the historical rebel Bitto (typical of Valgerola), on the other hand, it is necessary that the animals feed exclusively on the mountain pasture, with fresh grass, which is why its commercial availability is limited to the summer months; during the winter period, when cows and goats return to the valley floor stables, their milk is used for other cheesemaking products.
• Both Bitto use traditional breed cows but, with regard to goats, the rebel historian can be produced exclusively with the Orobica breed (at risk of extinction).
• The production process of the two types of Bitto may differ in several respects:
• For the production of Bitto PDO, enzymes in powder form are also granted, while for the historic rebel Bitto the choice is limited to traditional calf rennet.
• The forms in which the curd of Bitto PDO is placed are regular molds, while those for the historic rebel Bitto are traditional, made with bands of wood that make the bare edge concave and irregular.
• The aging of the historic rebel Bitto takes place only at the Bitto Storico di Gerola Alta dairy.

History

Bitto history

Bitto is an ancient cheese. It is assumed that it has Celtic origins; more precisely, it should date back to the period in which the population of the Gauls took refuge in Valtellina after being chased from the plains (from the third century BC onwards).

Initially known as "Formaggio Grasso Valtellina", in 1995-1996 it earned the name of Bitto and immediately after the DOP certification.

The separation between Bitto PDO and historical Bitto occurred shortly after.

Given the demanding processing, Bitto is a cheese with a very low production level and high prices.

To increase production and reduce prices, the DOP consortium partially modified the specification. The intervention was not appreciated by the producers of the Valtellina, who detached themselves and continued to produce the traditional Bitto, "historical" precisely, which in 2016 earned the "Slow Food" presidium. In the same year the Valtellina producers, to differentiate themselves from the DOP consortium, registered the "historic rebel" brand.