Bitto

Bitto is a pressed-cook, semi-hard cheese made in the high pastures of the Val Gerola and the surrounding valleys on the border between Lombardy and the southern edge of the Swiss canton of Graubünden. The name is thought to come from "Bitto," an old local word for a fertile piece of alpine meadow, although other sources link it to the Celtic root for butter. Mature Bitto has been awarded DOP status in Italy since 1996, and a separate, rarer Stravecchio Bitto aged at least ten years is one of the most expensive and intensely flavored cow's-milk cheeses in the world.

Traditional Bitto is made in spring and summer, when the herds are moved up to the alpe, from the milk of brown Alpine cows that graze on alpine herbs and wildflowers. The milk is curdled in copper kettles over a wood fire, formed into large wheel-shaped forms, and dry-salted before being moved to cellars to mature on wooden boards. A small percentage of goat's milk, capped at about ten percent, is permitted and helps preserve the sharpness and complexity of mature wheels.

Pair mature Bitto with a glass of Nebbiolo from Valtellina or a robust Rosso di Valtellina, with chestnut honey, or with a few drops of aged balsamic. In Italy, look for it at slow-food cheesemongers in Bergamo, Sondrio, Lecco, and Milan, and at the cheese stalls inside Milan's markets, including the Saturday market at Via Papiniano. Outside Italy it is sometimes exported as Stravecchio to specialty cheesemongers in London, Paris, New York, and Tokyo.

Bitto's origins are rooted in the centuries-old transhumance tradition of the Valtellina, though its precise beginnings are not documented. The cheese has been produced in the high Alpine pastures of Val Gerola and neighboring valleys for generations, with some scholars suggesting the name derives from a Celtic word meaning "eternal" or "long-lasting," a nod to its exceptional aging capacity. This etymology, however, is not definitively confirmed.

Traditionally made only during the summer months in alpine dairies, Bitto is crafted from raw cow's milk with a small addition of goat's milk, a practice that was historically essential for the cheese's character. The most celebrated version, Stravecchio Bitto, is aged for a decade or more, developing intense, complex flavors. Today, Bitto is protected by DOP status and recognized as a Slow Food Presidium product, symbolizing the survival of a pastoral culture that has defined the mountainous border region between Lombardy and Graubünden.