Dairy
Montasio
Montasio is a cow’s-milk cheese from Friuli-Venezia Giulia and parts of Veneto, made as a cooked, pressed wheel that ages from semi-soft and elastic (fresco) to firm and crumbly (stagionato) with a mild, milky flavour that grows nutty and more aromatic over time. The paste is pale straw to deeper gold; eyes are small or absent depending on age and make. It is a classic alpine table cheese of northeastern Italy, also melted in regional dishes such as frico. PDO rules define milk zone, make, and ageing so that Montasio remains distinct from neighbouring mountain cheeses.
Also known as: Montasio Stagionato
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History
Benedictine monks and alpine herders of the Montasio massif produced early pressed cow’s-milk cheeses from summer pastures.
Written references fixed Montasio as a named cheese of Friuli’s mountain dairies.
Denomination of origin protection was established for Montasio production methods and geography.
Montasio received Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in the European Union.
Age categories (fresco, mezzano, stagionato) were emphasised for consumers and export labelling.
Mountain dairies promoted longer-aged Montasio and traditional frico applications to wider markets.