Fontal Stella Alpina Foresti

Fontal Stella Alpina Foresti is a semi-cooked paste cheese of the "Fontina" type produced in northern Italy without the geographic constraint of the Valdostan PDO: born as an accessible industrial version of a traditional Alpine cheese, Fontal has over the decades built its own commercial identity clearly distinct from Fontina PDO, with wide distribution in Italian and European food retail. The term "Fontal" — a contraction of "Fontina Nazionale" — was coined in the 1950s, when the Padanian cheese industry sought to meet growing demand for a mild, soft and easily melting cheese similar to Valdostan Fontina but producible in large quantities with pasteurised cow's milk from across northern Italy. Caseificio Foresti works in Lombardy in the tradition of the great Padanian dairies, producing Fontal Stella Alpina with pasteurised whole cow's milk. The rind is thin and treated, the colour uniformly straw-yellow, the paste soft and elastic with fine and sparse eyes — characteristics that make it ideal for melting. The aromatic profile is neutral and accessible: sweet, milky, without the complexity of Fontina PDO.

• Temperature: 4–8 °C, wrapped in cheese paper or cling film
• Use within 2–3 weeks of opening
• Do not freeze the piece; slice-freezing for cooking purposes is possible
• Remove 15 minutes before use for maximum melting effect

In the kitchen: Excellent as a universal melting cheese: fondue, toast, warm tramezzini, croque-monsieur, white pizza. As filling for savoury crêpes and bresaola rolls. Risotto mantecatura off the heat for creaminess. On polenta al forno with ragù in layers. Pairing: Pinot Grigio Alto Adige or Lugana PDO for freshness.

Fontal is a generic cheese without PDO or PGI, but its production is regulated by European standards for semi-cooked paste cheeses with mandatory parameters for moisture, fat and acidity. Caseificio Foresti operates according to ISO quality certifications and mandatory HACCP standards for dairy products.

Product information

• Allergens: pasteurised cow's milk
• Lactose: present (short ageing)
• Gluten: absent
• Pregnancy: suitable — pasteurised milk
• Vegan/vegetarian: not suitable (animal rennet)