What To Know About Asiago Cheese

Asiago cheese is a popular hard cheese that we love! It can be served on a charcuterie board and is wonderful when used for cooking.

What is asiago cheese?

Asiago cheese is a popular type of cheese made from cow’s milk. Its country of origin is Italy. According to this source, it was originally produced in the regions of Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige. Over time, other countries began producing asiago as well, meaning that the term “asiago” refers to a style of cheese regardless of where it was produced. Aged asiago cheese is used in salads, soups, sauces, and pasta dishes. Fresh, sliced Asiago cheese is often used in sandwiches or on a charcuterie board.

What does asiago cheese taste like?

Asiago cheese is similar to parmesan cheese. Both cheeses are made in Italy; however, parmesan cheese has a sweeter flavor than asiago cheese. These two cheeses can often be used as a substitute for the other in a recipe.

Types of asiago

There are two types of asiago based on the type of milk used and how long the cheese ages:

1. Pressed Asiago Cheese

This type of asiago is produced with fresh whole milk. It goes through a process of cooking and drying, and eventually rests for 20 to 40 days. This creates a softer cheese that has a slightly yellow color.

Pressed asiago is more commonly used for slicing and melting.

2. Asiago d’Allevo

This type of asiago uses a different process than Pressed Asiago and instead begins with a mixture of whole milk and skimmed milk. After it is finished cooking and drying, it is aged. The amount of aging varies from 4 months to 15 months or more. The duration of aging impacts the flavor. The longer that it ages, the more bitter the taste is.

Aged asiago is often used for grating.

One of my favorite uses of asiago cheese is when it is baked on bread or even bagels. Panera Bread sells its famous asiago cheese bagel. This award-winning asiago cheese made by BelGioioso would be wonderful shredded and baked on bread!