{"id":3629,"date":"2024-01-25T03:05:48","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T03:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/bellavitano-a-most-versatile-cheese-from-wisconsin\/"},"modified":"2024-01-25T03:05:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T03:05:48","slug":"bellavitano-a-most-versatile-cheese-from-wisconsin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/bellavitano-a-most-versatile-cheese-from-wisconsin\/","title":{"rendered":"BellaVitano: A Most Versatile Cheese from Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BellaVitano Merlot Cheese. Photo courtesy of the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Years ago, I was tapped to be a speaker at a California cheese conference, but the night before the reception, a Wisconsin cheese representative called me. Their cheesemonger was sick\u2014could I be the one to share samples of their cheeses since I had just written a book about Wisconsin cheese? I remember that night clearly – because amidst the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of California cheeses, there was one cheese people kept coming back to taste again and again. It was an American original from Wisconsin, BellaVitano\u00ae<\/a>, a new cheese.<\/p>\n

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The Birth of an Award Winner<\/h2>\n
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Ken Kane, Master Cheesemaker at Sartori Cheese. Photo courtesy of the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sartori Cheese debuted its first BellaVitano cheese in 2008 as the result of years of experimentation. \u201cWe\u2019ve been in the business since 1939 so our R & D program is 84 years old,\u201d says Ken Kane, a Wisconsin master cheesemaker and Sartori plant manager. \u201cWe\u2019re blessed that the Sartori family has always pushed boundaries, and we have a really good parmesan, and we make a lot of great hard Italian style cheeses.\u201d He adds, \u201cWe were looking back to make something different in 2003, 2004, 2005, and we knew we were onto something when we came upon this flavor that was rooted in the cheddar world but also the parmesan world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly after its debut it was named \u201cBest New Cheese in the World\u2019 at an international cheese competition. BellaVitano has won dozens of awards since then, but one of its biggest wins was being awarded grand champion in 2017, beating out more than 2,000 American cheeses.<\/p>\n

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What is BellaVitano?<\/h2>\n

BellaVitano is made from pasteurized milk from local dairies and vegetarian rennet. The milk for all Sartori cheeses comes from within a 70-mile radius of their cheesemaking facilities. After the curd is formed and cut, it is hand-salted, then pressed for several hours. The 20-pound wheels are bathed in brine to help form the delicious rind on the cheese, then it is cured and aged for several months.<\/p>\n

Later, some of these wheels are either rubbed or soaked in different flavorings, and then they\u2019re further aged. Some varieties can be aged up to 22 months. \u201cEach wheel of BellaVitano is hand-rubbed by one of our team members,\u201d Kane says. \u201cOne of the things I\u2019d like to clear up – not only can you eat the rind, but we want you to eat that rind. We put a lot of effort into that, and if you don\u2019t eat the rind, you don\u2019t enjoy the full complexity of the cheese.\u201d A firm cheese, it can be sliced or grated and melted.<\/p>\n

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Flavored BellaVitano<\/h2>\n
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Pam Hodgson applying black pepper spices to a wheel of Black Pepper BellaVitano Parmesan. Photo credit Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cheese has a lot of versatility when it comes to flavor pairings. \u201cIt really plays well across the palate, and so we decided, let\u2019s try some flavor combinations and see if that does anything,\u201d Kane says.<\/p>\n

The first version was called Gold BellaVitano, now known as BellaVitano Original, when it made its debut, a flavored lineup of product extensions were simultaneously released. Some of the original offerings of BellaVitano included versions washed in wines and beers like merlot, chardonnay and New Glarus Raspberry Ale. Others were rubbed with herbs and spices.<\/p>\n

Over the years, BellaVitano has featured probably a dozen different extensions \u2014including bourbon, black pepper and cognac. Right now, the current lineup in addition to Original are Garlic and Herb, Tomato and Basil, Tennessee Whiskey, Balsamic, Espresso, Black Pepper, Chardonnay, and Merlot. \u201cSome of our offerings are seasonal or limited editions,\u201d Kane says. \u201cIt just plays so well with so many different flavors.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wisconsin Black Pepper BellaVitano. Photo courtesy of the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Interestingly, Kane says, some people think they might not like a certain flavor, but because BellaVitano is the base, they often change their minds after tasting it. \u201cWith the espresso variety, some people say \u2018I don\u2019t like coffee,\u2019 but then they try it and say \u2018This cheese really appeals to me,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The newest flavor of BellaVitano is Tomato and Basil. Shares Kane, \u201cWe just launched that recently (October 2023), and it\u2019s kind of hard to believe that we just came up with that, as those flavors are classic, and they pair really well together,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re really excited about this cheese as it gets to market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes, Sartori will do very specific flavors for customers who ask. \u201cWe did a cinnamon one for a customer of ours, for example,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Coming up with new flavors is a balance, Kane says. \u201cWe like to push the envelope, but we really have to see how each spice or rub, or condiment affects the cheese,\u201d Kane says. \u201cEach wheel of BellaVitano is hand-rubbed by one of our team members.\u201d Some of the more surprising flavors in addition to Espresso and Cinnamon, include Raspberry and Chai. But not all flavors work.<\/p>\n

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Pairings<\/h2>\n

BellaVitano\u2019s beverage pairings can go sweet or savory, and some of the pairings are obvious like coffee with Espresso BellaVitano and Chardonnay with Chardonnay BellaVitano. Others take a little more work \u2014 Syrah with Black Pepper BellaVitano or a Chianti with Tomato and Basil. Kane recommends experimenting and enjoying it with beverages you like. \u201cBeer also goes really well with our cheese, and craft breweries have so many different styles and specialties,\u201d Kane says.<\/p>\n

As far as cooking goes, Kane recommends melting some Merlot BellaVitano on burgers, and using the tomato and basil version in any Italian dishes, but also on grilled cheese served with tomato soup. Black Pepper BellaVitano can be added to grilled steaks, he says. \u201cIt adds a nice texture to it,\u201d he says. Thanks to the colored rinds, BellaVitano is also a favorite on cheeseboards.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BellaVitano Merlot Cheese. Photo courtesy of the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin Years ago, I was tapped to be a speaker at a California cheese conference, but the night before the reception, a Wisconsin cheese representative called me. Their cheesemonger was sick\u2014could I be the one to share samples of their cheeses since I had just … Okumaya devam et “BellaVitano: A Most Versatile Cheese from Wisconsin”<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1271,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-milk-and-diary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1271"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sutyo.com\/tr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}