Well, this is one cheese which may raise some eyebrows or may cause laughter at its very first mention and people might not believe that it is really the name of a cheese. But, don’t think that I’m joking; bra cheese is indeed a cheese from Rome’s capital city.

Yes, this cheese with a funny name is an Italian cheese. Bra cheese is named after a small town in the province of Cuneo in Piedmont in Italy.

Though this cheese is named after the town of Bra, it was actually never manufactured there. It is said that the farmers and the herdsmen of that area kept this cheese in their cellars for maturing or ageing and then sold it wherever they wanted to.

Bra cheese is linked to the nomadic herdsmen who used to come down to the plains of Cuneo to escape the harsh winters of the Italian valleys. It is said that it was these herdsmen who provided the milk for the cheese and even made it.

Bra cheese may be produced all year round unlike some other cheeses which are made only during a specific time period. This cheese can be made using either pasteurized or unpasteurized milk. Bra cheese is primarily made from cow’s milk but a little amount of goat’s or ewe’s milk can also be added. Bra cheese comes in the form of cylinders.

Bra cheese also has a PDO status under the European law. PDO or Protected Designation of Origin is a geographical indication which protects the names of wines, hams, cheeses, sausages, seafood, olives, beers, balsamic vinegar and even breads, vegetables and fruits.

One can eat bra cheese as soft and hard both. Depending upon the ageing process, this cheese can be made into hard (duro) or soft (tenero) whichever way you want it. For soft cheese, the ageing process takes at least 45 days and to make hard cheese, it can be left for ageing till 6 months. Soft cheese is white ivory in color and has few eyes. While the hard cheese acquires an orange yellow color upon ageing.

The flavor of bra cheese becomes sharp and salty upon ageing.

One can eat bra cheese as an appetizer with wines like Barber or Dolcetto and even with amber beers. Hard version of bra cheese can be grated and used in baking or as a normal table cheese.

Bra cheese can be used in cooking as well. It can be an interesting addition to omelets. In fact you can make an omelet using bra cheese, green onions, mushrooms, black truffle, salt and pepper.

A bra duro cheese or hard cheese contains around 32 to 42 percent of water, 50 to 60 percent protein, 32 to 42 percent fat and 2 to 6 percent ash.

If you plan to try something differentcheese recipe then bra cheese can be a good option for you. 

Image credit-- dairyscience.info