Author Topic: Bellavitano Recipe, anyone???  (Read 1904 times)

Spoons

  • Guest
Bellavitano Recipe, anyone???
« on: March 28, 2014, 01:29:42 AM »
I just had this absolutely wonderful cheese tonight; Bellavitano Espresso. It's not a grana cheese, but I googled it and it's apparently a modified Parm cheese.

The cheese has a pliable texture, its moist, and it has that sharp "parm / almost cheddar" taste along with the calcium crystal formations in it. The rind is rubbed with a mixture of ground roasted coffee beans and oil. The cheese has practically no dry rind at all.

Also, looking at the nutrition fact label, the fat content is higher than the protein content, unlike a parm.

I'm trying to see if I can replicate a similar cheese. Am I on the right track in thinking this is a vac-sealed parm made with full fat milk?

Anyone know what this cheese is?

p.s. This Italian cheese is sooo good that I thought for a second that Wisonsin is an Italian province... Yes, Bellavitano is made in Wisconsin.

« Last Edit: March 28, 2014, 01:48:57 AM by Spoons »

Digitalsmgital

  • Guest
Re: Bellavitano Recipe, anyone???
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2014, 04:19:32 AM »
Fascinating read;

Quote
For production of Sartori’s cheeses, the milk is heated, cultures and rennet are added and, once the milk has coagulated, the curd is cut, releasing the whey which is drained off.

The remaining curd is hand-salted and transferred into hoops  and then pressed for several hours.  After that,the newly formed wheels of cheese are placed in a warm “overnight” room to encourage the expulsion of more whey. 

Wheels are then trimmed by hand and placed in a brine bath which encourages the formation of a rind.  After the brine bath, the cheese is moved to a curing room for further maturation.

Each variety of cheese is matured for a different length of time.  Every batch is tasted at regular intervals during this period and, when they are deemed ready, released for sale.

For the production of some of Sartori’s cheeses, carefully selected wheels are chosen to undergo a third stage of finishing.

This last stage involves the application by hand or soaking of a proprietary blend of one of a variety of coatings.

For production of Espresso BellaVitano, wheels of BellaVitano Gold are hand-coated with freshly-ground, roasted Italian espresso beans.

Spoons

  • Guest
Re: Bellavitano Recipe, anyone???
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2014, 01:47:35 PM »
Air drying in a warm room? Curious!
Curd is hand salted but the pressed wheel is also brined? Intriguing!

To me it almost sounds like an "Italian Cheddar" as opposed to a hybrid parm. So now I'm wondering if this is :

a) A cheddar recipe, using thermo cultures and cooking temps adjusted for the thermo culture?
b) Recipe starts off as a parm with full fat milk but is cheddared (acidified) and salted before being hooped?

Spoons

  • Guest
Re: Bellavitano Recipe, anyone???
« Reply #3 on: March 30, 2014, 01:18:55 AM »
I found this video on youtube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7p09IykieI


This thread should be in "Hard Other" section. I put it here because I thought (and still think) this cheese is somehow a soft parm. The double salting process and the warm air drying sure has me scratching my head.

Digitalsmgital

  • Guest
Re: Bellavitano Recipe, anyone???
« Reply #4 on: March 30, 2014, 07:24:07 AM »
a cool PR video, not quite an advertisement per se, but a tool to advance the company's community standing. I would like to work there even if it meant shoveling snow and becoming a (shudder) Packers fan.