|
As enabled by tradition and law, only two Italian regions produce Gorgonzola cheese, and the following provinces only: Novara, Vercelli, Cuneo, Biella, Verbania and Casale Monferrato surroundings in Piedmont; Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Lecco, Lodi, Milan, Monza, Pavia and Varese in Lombardy. Only milk produced in such provinces may be used to produce and grant Gorgonzola cheese a DPO certification, ensuring its authenticity from the very raw material.  A healthy feed production and the high hygienic standards in consortium stalls make milk to be processed into "gorgonzola" a basic condition for such an important product. Export During more recent "golden years" (1930s) gorgonzola cheese production reached its peak. In 1938, 270,000 quintals (a huge figure at the time) were produced. Gorgonzola cheese production covered a 13.5% of the whole national dairy production, which overall level reached 200,000 tons. In addition to this, more than a 60% - 162,000 quintals - was exported. Gorgonzola cheese was more and more requested in England and France, as well as in the very Restaurant of London House of Commons Camera and, as newspapers reported in those days, it was far more consumed than other cheeses. Italians, whose number was smaller than today, used to consume about 370 g each. There were many dairies (about 500), the majority of which were family-based. Today, Gorgonzola cheese is produced in about 40 dairies representing a manufacturing elite composed of big national industries and smaller family businesses. This is the result of a long-lasting selection process. Modern dairies process milk in compliance with hygienic-sanitary laws, in equipped workshops with the necessary care and experience to make a cheese requiring significant manual work and controls. More than 1,000 agricultural companies spread over the consortium territory, supply milk to be used in Gorgonzola production. Annual overall production equals approx. 4 million rounds - 480,000 quintals - with a 350 million Euro turnover. Approx. 31% (130,000 quintals) is exported. Germany and France are the main consumer countries, absorbing more than a 50% of overall export. Switzerland, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Scandinavian countries, and Austria follow them in Europe; then come USA and Canada. Significant signs also come from the Far East: Japan is a country where Italian cheeses usually meet with success. In particular, Gorgonzola cheese consumption grew from few tens quintals imported until the 1990s, to 2,300 quintals imported in 2005. The takings equal 66 million Euro, about a 9% of Italian milk-dairy export value. Gorgonzola cheese also is among the most exported cow-milk national cheeses. |
|