Testun cheese, pressed and aged with the must of Nebbiolo grapes is our best bite this week.
We discovered a stack of it on the counter at Salumeria Italiana in the North End, asked a few questions and took home a hunk.
The Salumeria staff told us their customers love it and come back asking for the "Barolo cheese." Just say that, and they'll know exactly what you mean.
The Slow Food community also loves this cheese. In 1999 they awarded it first prize as the "Best Drunken Cheese in Italy." And, in an effort to preserve its production for future generations, they added it to the International "Ark of Taste"– an effort to "rediscover, catalog, describe and publicize forgotten flavors."
Of course, buying and eating these foods is the best way to protect their existence! We're willing to do our part– especially for a cheese with a wonderful nutty flavor and the kind of long aromatic finish that we normally associate with great wine. You really can taste the fruit from the must in the cheese.
Now we're looking for the perfect Barolo to match with our next piece of Testun. If you prefer beer with your cheese, the Artisanal Cheese Clock Pairing Tool suggests an ale or lambic beer with testun.
Testun is made from a blend of cow's and ewe's milk and is usually found in a semi-soft stage these days. The name "Testun" is from the local dialect word for headstrong or stubborn. It's been suggested that this is because it was often aged until it was hard and suitable for grating. We think it might be because once you've tried it, you become stubborn about having it regularly.
If you're reading this from another part of the country, you can buy this cheese through Amazon.
And, if you want to learn more about cheese, we highly recommend this new book from one of the best mentors in the world of cheeses, Max McCalman. We thank all of you who do your Amazon shopping from BostonZest. That's one way to keep this site going.
Details:
Salumeria Italiana
www.salumeriaitaliana.com
151 Richmond Street, Boston, MA 02109-1414 (map )
(617) 523-8743
Writers: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: © 2010 Penny Cherubino
