I cheeses si possono classificare in base al grado di stagionatura (distinguendo per esempio formaggi più giovani da formaggi vecchi, cioè stagionati più a lungo), al tipo di latte (vaccino o caprino, come nel caso dei nostri deliziosi formaggi di capra di Livigno) ma anche a seconda del trattamento del latte. Cosa significa? Scopriamolo nel dettaglio.

Latte crudo o latte pastorizzato per la produzione dei formaggi

I formaggi a latte crudo sono quelli per la cui realizzazione il latte non viene pastorizzato prima della lavorazione, cioè senza sottoporre la materia prima ad alcun trattamento termico: il latte viene utilizzato per la produzione casearia così come è quando viene munto. Il latte crudo mantiene così la sua microflora naturale originaria, conservando così maggiormente anche gli aromi legati al territorio di provenienza. I potenziali rischi microbiologici del latte crudo vengono eliminati attraverso il processo di stagionatura dei formaggi, che in ogni caso gli esperti sconsigliano a soggetti a rischio come le donne in gravidanza o i bambini più piccoli.

I formaggi a latte pastorizzato sono invece quelli in cui il latte fresco di mungitura viene riscaldato a temperature elevate (circa 75° C per 15-20 secondi) per eliminare batteri potenzialmente dannosi, anche se in questo modo si disperdono anche parte della flora batterica e degli enzimi naturali della materia prima. Il risultato è un formaggio di maggiore sicurezza microbiologica, ma dal gusto sicuramente meno peculiare e meno influenzato dai pascoli locali.

Una via di mezzo è rappresentata dai formaggi a latte termizzato, un trattamento termico a temperature più basse (intorno ai 60° C) che consente di salvaguardare almeno in parte la flora batterica: tipicamente lo si impiega per formaggi a lunga o media maturazione.

I formaggi a latte crudo di Alpe Livigno

Alcuni grandi esempi della tradizione casearia italiana sono formaggi a latte crudo e anche tra le bontà prodotte nel nostro caseificio di montagna a Livigno non mancano i formaggi fatti con il latte crudo:

• the scimudin, classico formaggio valtellinese a pasta molle che prepariamo in malga lavorando il latte fresco delle nostre bovine alimentate al pascolo nei mesi estivi. Lo scimudin necessita di una stagionatura piuttosto breve, mediamente di circa un mese, per essere pronto e portare in tavola il suo gusto cremoso e morbido;

• the alpine fat, il nostro formaggio alpino a lunga stagionatura che nasce in estate nei pascoli ad alta quota di Livigno. Qui, nel nostro caseificio presso l’alpe Vago, utilizziamo il latte crudo non pastorizzato e appena munto per produrre formaggi a pasta dura che saranno pronti solo dopo almeno 70 giorni di maturazione;

• il primofiore, formaggio di alpeggio semigrasso che deve il suo nome all’alimentazione delle bovine che brucano la prima erba dei pascoli estivi, a quote superiori a 2000 metri. La lavorazione a crudo del loro latte (find out more) permette di percepire nel primofiore gli inconfondibili aromi e sentori naturali delle montagne livignasche;

• cottage cheese, che pur non essendo propriamente un formaggio in quanto si ottiene dal siero di latte vaccino e non dal latte portato a cagliata, è preparata a latte crudo dai nostri casari all’Alpe Vago e si contraddistingue per la sua freschezza e il suo gusto naturale;

• e anche il nostro butter from Livigno è prodotto con il latte crudo: scopri di più qui.

Scopri tutte le altre eccellenze casearie a km zero fatte a Livigno con il latte delle nostre mucche: passa in rassegna i formaggi di Alpe Livigno

L'articolo Formaggi a latte crudo: cosa sono e quali sono proviene da Alpe Livigno.

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

L'articolo Primofiore, il formaggio d’alpeggio che sa di estate proviene da Alpe Livigno.

Among ours Mountain cured meats produced in Livigno There are two Traditional Alpine products, noble and with a long history behind them: the goat fiddle and the sheep fiddle. Let's find out more about their characteristics, what aspects they have in common and where they differ.

Il violino prende il nome dalla parola italiana "violino", che è un diminutivo di "viola".

The name "violin" for a cured meat might sound strange, yet the explanation is very simple. The appellation derives from methods by which these products are traditionally slicedare rested on the shoulder and, holding them at the opposite end with one hand, just like a bow instrument, one proceeds to cut with a knife with the other hand, yielding Thin, aromatic slices.

The goat violin and the sheep violin have this peculiarity in common: they are sliced just as if you were playing a violin.

Goat violin: characteristics and production

Goat violin is a fine cured meat made from Goat leg meat, a particularly lean type of meat. The artisanal processing involves the Tanning of hides with a blend of salt, pepper, natural flavourings and wine and then, after the massage, a process of appassimento and ageing which here in Livigno lasts about 2 months. The slow drying of this goat salami is functional for flavouring the meat, which matures unique and authentic taste.

The goat violin is a Pure artisan cured meats, who just like the goat's cheese it stands out for its unmistakable flavour, in which one can perceive the smells of grass grazed by animals grazing in the summer months. Once sliced with a mandoline, it's perfect to accompany an aperitif with a Rich platter of typical cheeses.

Discover the goat violin of Alpe Livigno

Sheep's violin: craftsmanship and quality

Our Alpine salami production complements our goat products with sheep products. From the Whole lamb legs, used as raw material, thus giving birth to the sheep violin, whose processing is analogous: the meats, marinated with salt, wine, and spices, are subjected to slow curing, which lasts on average one month more than the goat violin (circa 90 days), during which their organoleptic and taste characteristics mature.

Besides the Differences in ageing, these sheep's cured meats have a Larger weight grading compared to goat violins – about 1.5-2 kg – and a slightly different taste profile: their flavour is therefore fuller, rounder, and sometimes sweeter Compared to the goat version, a symptom of a wider aromatic bouquet. Ideal as Appetiser meats along with its cousin, the sheep's fiddle pairs well with Full-bodied red wines, rustic jams and mountain honey.

Discover the sheep violin of Alpe Livigno

Where to buy typical Livigno violins

Goat and sheep violins, typical of the Alps and produced in Livigno following local tradition, are only available for sale at certain times of the year in Shops of Alpe Livigno:

• Alpe Livigno outlet in the centre of Livigno (via Plan 93/H);
• Sales point in the locality of Tresenda, at our farm, at 132/A Via Dali Mina.

The production is limited in quantity and the product is always in high demand, so we recommend checking in-store availability using our contacts.

Discover all our local cured meats

L'articolo Violino di capra e violino di pecora: cosa sono e in cosa sono diversi proviene da Alpe Livigno.

  dairy production which kicks off from the fresh milk processing of our cattle has several flagships, from the scimudin at cottage cheesebut a separate chapter deserves our butter: a typical product of Livigno which preserves the flavour of the pastures and stems from a long tradition of craftsmanship.

Our Livigno butter: ingredients, processing and characteristics

Alpe Livigno butter is a mountain butter which we produce exclusively during the summer, when our cows graze in the open air, feeding on thefresh grass from the Alpe Vago meadowsat an altitude of around 2000 metres. To obtain it we use the raw milk resulting from the daily milking of the cows, which rests overnight until the cream rises: once separated from the milk, it is placed inside the churnfrom where the butter loaves will come out to be shaped using the special wooden mould.

Ours is a 0 km0 alpine pasture butterbecause it is produced within the Alpe Vago Alpine dairyin the same place where the cows graze in the summer months. In addition to its unmistakable, genuine flavour and its scent of fresh grass, the main characteristic of Alpe Livigno butter is its intense straw yellow colourwhich derives from thenatural nutrition of the animals and testifies to the high level of quality of this product.

All the virtues of Alpe Livigno butter and where to buy it

Our yellow butterconsidered one of Livigno's best butters, has sweet and delicate noteswith an aftertaste of pasture grass, and is a wholesome product that can be used in many recipes, as well as being enjoyed on its own (e.g. for breakfast with bread). It has good nutritional properties, the most important of which is the intake of vitamins A and Dand is a portentous natural antioxidant which protects against the effects of free radicals and cellular ageing.

The high quality of Alpe Livigno butter is evidenced by the fact that it was selected, along with a small number of products, for the TAS'T project in Livigno (Timeless Alpine Tradition) which brings together the foods typical of Livigno's traditional cuisine to rediscover and enhance them (find out more about the TAS'T project). And numerous are the Livigno and Valtellina recipes prepared with butter km zero, starting of course with pizzoccheri and polenta.

Where to find Alpe Livigno butter? In addition to tasting it in the Alpe Vago hut, it is possible buy our alpine butter directly at the Alpe Vago shop and in the Alpe Livigno sales outlets along with other dairy and livestock products:

• Alpe Livigno Shop Tresenda (the sales outlet at our premises) at 132/A Dali Mina Street;
• Alpe Livigno shop centre 93/H Plan Street.

Find out more about Livigno butter

L'articolo Il burro di alpeggio di Alpe Livigno: un prodotto di qualità superiore proviene da Alpe Livigno.

Livigno is famous for its bresaolahandcrafted and genuine. But there is a special bresaola that is produced here: the Bresaola 4ITa typical product that combines Alpine tradition and short supply chain. Let's get to know it better and discover its secrets.

What is Bresaola 4IT and why is it called that?

Bresaola 4IT is a 100% Italian bresaola, which is produced with Italian meat and whose transformation process takes place entirely on Italian territory, and in our case in Livigno. The term 4IT that distinguishes and differentiates it from all other bresaolas means precisely that the material of this sausage comes from:

• cattle born in Italy;
• bred in Italy;
• slaughtered in Italy;
• dissected in Italy.

This is the fundamental difference between Bresaola 4IT and all other types of bresaola found on the market, which are instead made from meat of non-Italian origin.

The 4IT Bresaola of Livigno

Alpe Livigno is among the producers of Bresaola 4IT for years, because from the very beginning we have strongly believed in the value of this project that enhances the Italian supply chain and local production to create a bresaola made in Italy quality. The particularity of our bresaola is even more specific, since all stages of the transformation process of the national raw material take place in LivignoIn fact, here in our charcuterie, the first choice beef, with selected cuts including the prized hip tipis cut and trimmed to remove excess fat, salted with a tanning with salt and natural flavourings including bay leaves, pepper, cinnamon and garlic, and finally spends a period of maturation of at least 25 days in constant climatic conditions to promote ripening in the mountain air.

It is therefore aauthentic Livigno bresaolaproduced with Italian 100% meat and processed according to artisanal methods and respecting tradition: a real delicacy, which has a special taste as well as being a healthy, low-fat and protein food.

Where can you buy Bresaola 4IT in Livigno?

If you want to savour the genuine taste of the Bresaola 4IT Alpe Livigno with the guarantee of certified Made in Italy quality all along the supply chain, you can buy one of the best bresaola in Livigno directly from the manufacturer in one of our two points of sale :

• the delicatessen and cheese shop 132/A Dali Mina Street (locality Tresenda), at the premises of the Alpe Livigno farm, on the road to the Forcola Pass;
• the Alpe Livigno shop in the village centre 93/H Plan Streetin the heart of the pedestrian and shopping area, close to the City Hall.

If you come to holiday in Livigno don't miss the chance to taste 4IT Bresaola, the real premium Italian bresaola: we are waiting for you!

Discover Alpe Livigno's Bresaola 4IT

L'articolo Bresaola 4IT, la bresaola italiana al 100% fatta a Livigno proviene da Alpe Livigno.