In our history, mountain cheeses have always held a special place. We certainly appreciate them for the organoleptic profile shaped by the terroir, but above all because they are the product of an environment where conditions are often far from ideal for achieving high productivity, large volumes, and mass production.

With this in mind, the story of the Latteria Livinallongo del Col di Lana (Belluno province) first caught our interest and then captivate us: we discovered a dairy with a determined board, and skilled, professional cheesemakers who are committed to the production and maturing of authentic cheeses.
We met for the first time (almost 20 years after our previous collaboration) at Cheese (Slow Food fair) last September, with the promise to visit them at their dairy in the new year. And so we did. In the middle of winter, we spent a morning with them to get to know the people better, see the facilities and assess whether the conditions were right to begin a collaboration. When we meet a potential new supplier, it is not just a matter of seeking out excellent products, but also of selecting products who can maintain a consistent, reliable presence on the market with good availability.

The Latteria Livinallongo is a cooperative, whose members are the farmers and milk suppliers themselves: six farms situated in the immediate surroundings of the dairy, at an altitude of 1,500 metres, with an average daily milk production of 2200 kg. 
The chairman is Christian Grones: he welcomes us and accompanies us throughout the visit, but he is also one of the milk suppliers. He explains that the cow’s diet (mainly Italian Simmental and Brown Swiss) is based primarily on home-grown hay all year round. The exception is during the summer months, when the animals are all moved to the Cherz mountain pasture, a single alpine pasture, and therefore feed on fresh grass. Silage is not permitted in their diet.

This is a high-value-added milk, produced in the mountains and processed (even in summer) in a well-equipped dairy that was renewed in 2021. The best-known and most widely produced cheeses are undoubtedly Fodom and Contrin, but there are several other gems crafted by the skilled cheesemaker Gianluigi Ceretti – who stays with us for most of the morning – that are worth mentioning, and we’d like to introduce you to at least a couple of them. 

FODOM

A semi-cooked cheese made from raw whole milk, aged for at least 90 days, named after the village of Livinallongo, in Ladin. The starter culture is produced in-house from the milk. It is classic cheese from the Veneto region, weighing around 5 kg. The texture is firm, with sparse but well-distributed eyes.

The flavour is mild but moderately intense. The aroma and the taste reveal notes of hay, cooked butter and mature milk, with a slight tangy sensations that becomes a spicy after 6 months of ageing, revealing a rather pronounced umami flavour. It is the dairy’s flagship product.

A special version of Fodom, which bears the Slow Food Presidium label, is produced using summer alpine milk. We hope to be able to present it to you in autumn. 

CONTRIN

A semi-cooked cheese made from pasteurised milk, with a soft texture and aged for a short period of around 25 days. This cheese is milky-white in colour, with medium-sized eyes, and a rich, buttery texture: an excellent choice for those seeking mild, milky flavours with hints of butter and yoghurt. Simple, yet far from ordinary.

Contrin is one of the hamlets in the municipality of Livinallongo del Col di Lana: all the cheeses are named after different localities in the surrounding area. 

LIVINALLONGO

A small, round caciotta-style cheese, with a weight of a couple of kilos, with a low side and made from pasteurised milk. The texture is soft and sticky; after around 30 days of maturing, it is ready to eat and reveals notes of butter and cooked milk, great mildness and a slight hint of savouriness.

Perfect for the catering, both because of its small size and because it is an ideal ingredient in pasta dishes and sandwiches. It is also suitable for maturing for over 60 days. 

COL DI LANA

Another unique cheese is this square block weighing around 4 kg, made from pasteurised milk. This cheese impressed us not only for its shape – unusual for this region – but above all for its flavour and texture. It is mild and delicate, with aromas of mountain flowers and yeast.

The texture reveals a slight proteolysis under the rind. Aged for an average of 30 days, it develops pleasant notes of mushrooms and cave when it reaches at least 60 days.