Bettelmatt
On 10th November 1821, in Briga, the notary Valentino Fest agrees to sell Alpe Bettelmatt to Alessandro Anderlini.
Without knowing it, he decides with this act the cession of a part of
Switzerland to Italy. Today, the place is beautiful and charming as it
was in the past; during the warm season it is full of flowers and the
one hundred/one hundred and twenty cows grazing here during the summer
have a low grass rich in flowers, perfumes, and essences. From here a
cheese with a yellow dough, tasty, famous and appreciated already in
the past.
As a matter of fact, in 1880 it was mentioned in the Jacini Survey like
a very good example of cheese with cream (a miracle, if we consider the
poor conditions of Italy in the past).
Since then, those who want a certain kind of cheese, struggle for the 150/180 rounds produced every year.
The
name of this summer pasture cheese, always in competition with
"fontina" was definitively decided with the 1968 referendum: the cheese
would be identified in the future with its area of origin, Alpe
Bettelmatt, at about 2,100 meters of height, on the border between
Switzerland and Piedmont.
It is produced with raw milk from the
Bruna race cows, whose excellence lies in the fodder of Alpe
Bettelmatt. The seasoning goes from a minimum of 40 days to a maximum
of a year. It has the classical shape of "tome" and "fontine
d'alpeggio", with a diameter of 45-55cm and a weight going between 8
and 10 kilos.
Sometimes it is also called "Mattolina", from the name of the characteristic
aromatic herb growing in the production area, which gives the cheese
its yellow color. It can be tasted - both alone and as an ingredient -
as an alternative to "Fontina d'Alpeggio".
