Branzi is one of the oldest and most typical cheeses of the Bergamo Alps and is named after the village in the Upper Brembana Valley, in the province of Bergamo, where its traditional production originated.
For more than fifty years, the milk from the barns of the Brembana Valley and neighbouring areas, which acquires its typical character from the quality of the forage and pastures, is collected daily and sent to the Latteria Sociale in Branzi, where it is transformed after meticulous testing.
Artisanal work methods are used, although different equipment is employed considering the large quantities of milk that are transformed each day and to meet modern standards of hygiene. Large steel vats have replaced the traditional “coldere” cauldrons shaped like an upside down bell. The curd is no longer broken with a spada (wooden rod) or curd knife, but with large rotary tools. Temperatures for heating and cooking are regulated by thermostat. It still remains the art of the master cheesemakers, the only ones able to decide when the curd formed by the rennet has reached the right degree of homogeneousness and consistency for breaking down and when the curd is cooked to the right point where the whey can be removed. |
