A semi-soft and pale yellow cheese, fontina is the queen of all cheese. Hailing from Italy, fontina is cow milk cheese which is seasonal. The best varieties of the fontina are available between May and September. And that’s because around that time the herd grazed the meadows in Italy at the foot of the Alps. In fact, true fontina is made in Val d’Aosta, a small region in the southwest of Italy.
It is quite smooth and has little holes throughout the cheese die to air pockets that build in during production. The rind around the cheese is brown and thin. For trivia, rinds are the shell that forms on the outside of cheese while production. They can be edible or not, depending on the cheese.
The rind of fontina, unlike Brie, is not edible and also slightly oily so keep that in mind.
Fontina is also made in countries like Denmark, France, and the US but the best quality comes from Italy. But if you want cheese made from pasteurized milk, we would suggest opting for the Dutch or American variety. The cheese has a lovely flavour and the aroma of fontina is also quite pleasant. The aroma actually intensifies the longer it ages. Younger fontina is pale yellow while the older fontina has a deeper yellow hue.
Cooking, grilling, baking, and melting fontina is very simple. It is a very versatile cheese and not too high maintenance. If you want to try a cheese similar to fontina we recommend using Bel Paese or Provolone.
How to store fontina?
Fontina does not hold out in the fridge for very long, a week in the fridge is as long as it can take. Whenever you are in the mood to use it, allow it to at least rest at room temperature for two hours.
