Dairy & Eggs
Asiago
An Italian cow's-milk cheese; young Asiago melts smoothly into bakes, while aged wheels grate sharp and nutty like Parmesan over pasta and soups.
Asiago is a DOP cow's-milk cheese from the Asiago plateau (Altopiano dei Sette Comuni) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the single most useful thing a cook can know about it is that the name covers two genuinely different cheeses. Asiago Pressato — the young version, aged roughly twenty to forty days from whole milk — is smooth, pale, and elastic with small irregular eyes, a melting cheese in the Fontina or mild provolone family that slides into panini, pizza, and baked pasta. Asiago d'Allevo, made from partially skimmed milk and aged from three months to well over a year, is firm, granular, and progressively pungent, eventually developing the crystalline, savory bite of a true grating cheese.
The aging tiers inside d'Allevo translate directly into the kitchen. Mezzano (3–6 months) still slices cleanly and melts with a pleasantly piquant edge, useful on a cheese board or stirred into risotto. Vecchio (6–12 months) brings the toasted-nut aroma and the first crunchy tyrosine crystals that make it shine shaved over salads, melted into frittatas, or grated into fillings. Stravecchio (12+ months, often 15–18) is hard, granular, and intensely savory — the wheel to treat like a finishing cheese, a small shower of which is enough to perfume pasta in brodo, polenta, gnocchi, or a slow-cooked ragù.
What makes Asiago unusually practical in a home kitchen is that it bridges two jobs that Italian cooks usually fill with two different cheeses. Pull Pressato for melting, slice Mezzano for antipasto, and reserve Vecchio and Stravecchio for grating and shaving — the same producer's range can cover a grilled cheese, a cheese board, and a bowl of minestrone without ever leaving the family.
- Measured in
- g
- Storage
- Wrapped & Refrigerated
Allergens
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Types & varieties
Young, 20–40 days from whole milk. Pale, smooth, mildly tangy. The melting and sandwich cheese.
Aged 3–6 months from partially skimmed milk. Slightly firm, pleasantly piquant — a bridge between Pressato and Vecchio.
Aged 6–12 months. Firm, fragrant, distinctly nutty, with the first crunchy tyrosine crystals appearing.
Aged 12+ months, typically 15–18. Hard, granular, intensely savory and complex — the grating wheel.
Choosing between Pressato and d'Allevo
A simple decision tree for the cook who has only one Asiago in the fridge at a time.
- Heat is involved (pizza, panini, baked pasta, fondue, frittata, risotto) → reach for Pressato, the smoother and fattier of the two.
- The cheese is going on a board or into a salad → Mezzano or Vecchio, sliced or shaved, gives the most balanced personality.
- The cheese is a finishing element grated or shaved over something already cooked (pasta, soup, polenta, gnocchi, vegetables) → Vecchio or Stravecchio.
- You want a substitute for Parmesan in a pesto, a carbonara, or a breadcrumb topping → aged d'Allevo is the move; Pressato will be wasted and underwhelming.
Reading the rind
A genuine DOP wheel is stamped with a pinwheel pattern on the rind edge — the exact design varies between varieties (commonly called 'paglia' or 'fioritura', depending on the type) — and carries a casein plate with the DOP mark. The rind is thin and not eaten on aged wheels, where it tends to be tough and slightly ammoniacal; on Pressato it is soft enough to leave in place on a board.
Working with aged Asiago in the kitchen
A few habits that get the most from Vecchio and Stravecchio.
- Grate on a Microplane, not a box grater — a small amount of fine, fluffy cheese distributes far more evenly.
- Pair with a fat and an acid: olive oil plus a drop of aged balsamic over a slice, or a knob of butter melted into the cooking liquid, opens the flavor.
- For shaving (over salads, carpaccio, roasted vegetables), a vegetable peeler gives cleaner, thinner ribbons than a knife.
Common uses
Tips & pitfalls
- Buy a wedge cut from a real DOP wheel and avoid pre-shredded bags for aged Asiago — the anti-caking starches on supermarket shreds turn grainy and clumpy when melted.
- Melt Pressato over moderate heat and add it late; over a roaring burner the proteins seize and squeeze out fat, leaving an oily puddle.
- Grate aged d'Allevo finely on a Microplane — a little goes a long way, and fine shreds integrate into sauces instead of sitting in chunks.
- For pasta in brodo, drop shavings of aged Asiago in off the heat and stir once so the cheese melts into silky threads rather than rubbery clumps.
- Store in parchment or cheese paper inside a loosely closed container; airtight plastic suffocates the rind and traps ammonia, which will taint the paste within days.
- Bring a board wedge to room temperature 30–60 minutes before serving — cold cheese mutes the aroma and feels chalky on the palate.
- Substitute aged Asiago for up to half the Parmesan in a classic pesto or carbonara for a rounder, slightly sweeter depth without losing the savory backbone.
Nutrition
Energy
1628 kJ · per 100 g
Where the calories come from
Protein
25.6g
51% DV
Carbs
1.6g
1% DV
Fat
31.1g
40% DV
Fiber
0g
0% DV
Sugars
1.6g
of which
Sodium
800mg
35% DV
Source · USDA FoodData Central · approx. Cheese, fontina
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Good to know
- Origin
- Asiago plateau in Veneto, northern Italy; production zone extends into parts of Trentino-Alto Adige.
- Protected status
- DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) since 1996; look for the pinwheel pattern stamped on the rind.
- Two families
- Asiago Pressato (young, 20–40 days, whole milk) and Asiago d'Allevo (aged 3–18+ months, partially skimmed milk).
- Aging tiers (d'Allevo)
- Mezzano 3–6 months; Vecchio 6–12 months; Stravecchio 12+ months, commonly 15–18.
- Texture
- Pressato is smooth and elastic with small irregular holes; aged d'Allevo becomes firm, granular, and studded with crunchy tyrosine crystals.
- Flavor profile
- Pressato: mild, milky, slightly sweet. Vecchio and Stravecchio: savory, nutty, with a sharp Parmesan-like finish.
- Fat in dry matter
- Pressato minimum ~44%; d'Allevo minimum ~35%.
- Storage
- Wrap in parchment or cheese paper, then loose plastic; refrigerated 1–3 weeks. Grated cheese can be frozen in an airtight bag for several months.
Substitutes
- Fontina — Best stand-in for Pressato in fondues, panini, and baked pasta — equally smooth and mellow.
- Young Gouda — Creamy melt with mild sweetness; a good Pressato swap on pizza and in grilled cheese.
- Mild Provolone (dolce) — Comparable stretch and gentle tang; works on pizza and in baked pasta.
- Monterey Jack — Easy, mild American substitute when melting Pressato in quesadillas or grilled sandwiches.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano — Classic swap for aged d'Allevo when grating over pasta, soups, and risotto.
- Grana Padano — Slightly softer and less piquant than Stravecchio but functions identically as a finishing cheese.
- Piave Vecchio — Northern-Italian aged cow's-milk cheese, crystalline and nutty — the closest direct cousin of aged Asiago.
- Aged Pecorino Romano — Saltier and sheepier, but an acceptable grating substitute when aged Asiago is not available.
Pairs with
Also called
asiago cheese · asiago d'allevo
