Discovering a dairy excellence at Livigno's Alpe Vago
I cheeses from Livigno stand out for their taste and their ability to convey the authenticity of the ingredients with which they are prepared. The milk from our cows is a pure mountain milk and it's an absolutely quality raw material, thanks to the’careful feeding of cows at any time of the year, and in certain alpine cheeses it is even possible to catch the scents of the pastures where the animals have fed before milking. If you don't believe me, try tasting the Primofiore of Alpe Livigno.
The Primofiore of Livigno is a white wine produced in the Livigno area, a duty-free zone in the Lombardy region of Italy, near the Swiss border. The name "Primofiore" translates to "first flower" in Italian, which refers to the wine's early harvest and its fresh, floral aromas that are characteristic of the first blooms of spring.
The Primofiore is a Alpine cheese typical of Livigno What is ready in winter, but is born in the height of summer. It is in fact a Semi-hard, hard cheese that is produced during the summer months with the Pasture-raised cow's milk, and it owes its name to the philosophy behind its main ingredient. The cows taken to the mountains to spend the summer outdoors, in fact, are move to a different area of the pasture every 12 hours so that they always graze on fresh, new grass: this habit, inherited from them the traditions of breeding of our ancestors, ensuring that animal feed is natural and varied, rich in ever-changing flowers and herbs.
The extraordinary mountain varieties it is found entirely in the milk of our cows, with which the Primofiore is produced during the summer months using artisanal and ancient production techniques: and the flavour of this cheese also retains the memory of scents of high-altitude pastures.
Production, processing and ageing of Primofiore
Besides the raw material, the secret of Primofiore is the maturation stage. The shapes just produced in our dairy with the freshly milked milk are immediately put to to age in the cellar. Here, in the dark and under controlled temperature and humidity conditions, the cheese matures until it develops its final texture and organoleptic characteristics. The Primofiore maturing It's slow and requires time and patience: lasts at least two months (usually over 70 days) and consequently the cheese produced in summer is ready for consumption in the autumn or already in the early winter months.
but its scent and taste still retain them notes of fresh grass and flowers of the summer pastures and when it comes out of the cellar, the Primofiore brings to mind the warm months spent at the Alpe Vago hut, in one of the most enchanting and unspoilt corners of Livignodiscover Alpe Vago).
How to eat and pair Primofiore
The Primofiore Alpe Livigno it is a mature mountain cheese that is perfect as Table dairy product, tasty and balanced. As mentioned, the variety at the base of its summer origins makes each form a unique product, different from the others, with a characteristic and peculiar bouquet of flavours whose common denominator is the’Authentic mountain taste.
As well as being enjoyed on its own – perhaps as part of a Typical Livigno aperitif alongside cured meats and local products, as in our Shepherd's basket at Alpe Vago – the Primofiore is used as kitchen ingredient. We, for example, use it to prepare one of Traditional dishes of Livigno how I pizocar, the small white gnocchi dressed with Malga butter and Primofiore cheese to make them even more stringy, flavourful and typical.
Discover Alpe Livigno's Primofiore cheese and buy it at our stores in Livigno