Dairy
Castelmagno
Castelmagno is a rare alpine cheese from the high valleys of Cuneo in Piedmont, made mainly from cow’s milk (sometimes with small additions of sheep or goat milk) as a pressed, cylindrical wheel that develops a crumbly, marbled paste and a robust, savoury, slightly piquant flavour with age. Blue-green veins may appear naturally from mould in the paste or fissures, though it is not a classic blue-veined cheese in the Roquefort sense. It is a prized table cheese, often crumbled over polenta, pasta, or risotto in Piedmontese cuisine. PDO status and limited mountain production keep volumes low and flavour strongly tied to summer pasture and cellar ripening.
Also known as: Castelmagno d'Alpeggio
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Characteristics
Preparations
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History
Documentary records from the Castelmagno area already refer to local cheese used in rents and trade.
High-valley dairies refined pressed cylindrical wheels from summer cow’s milk in the Grana Valley system.
Denomination of origin protection was introduced for Castelmagno’s traditional mountain make.
Castelmagno received Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in the European Union.
Revival of alpine dairies and restaurant demand restored Castelmagno’s prestige after mid-century decline.
Specialty export and slow-food attention highlighted raw-milk and long-aged mountain wheels.