The aged cheese is often grated in salads, soups, pastas, and sauces while the fresh Asiago is sliced to prepare panini or sandwiches; it can also be melted on a variety of dishes and cantaloupe.
The DOP production area is strictly defined: It starts from the meadows of the Po Valley and finishes in the Alpine pastures between the Asiago plateau and the Trentino's highlands.
[1] Between the 10th and 15th centuries, sheep raising was the predominant agricultural activity in the Asiago plateau – which was known for its pastures – the purpose of which was the production of savory cheeses (originally called "Pegorin"),[5] and wool production, destined for the textile works of the near valley (Valdagno, Schio, Piovene Rocchette).
Asiago was on the border with the Austrian Empire and was an area of contention and large-scale pitched battles, both during Napoleon's Italian campaign and during the First and Second World Wars.
Specific enzymes, like rennet and lipase, are then added as liquid solution and the milk starts to coagulate.
Then the rounds are wrapped laterally with plastic bands (which put the brand Asiago around the entire form) and are placed in a room called "Frescura" for two to three days to dry.
At this point the bands are removed to allow one last curing by a bath in brine for a period of two days.
First the raw milk is heated to about 35 °C (95 °F) and rennet and enzymes are added as a liquid solution to make it coagulate.
The batter obtained is then kneaded and partially cooked; the curd is broken into many small parts (of the size of a grain of rice).
The paste is removed from the heat and stirred with a large whisk, then the curd is extracted and placed into molds lined with cheese cloth for forming.
It is divided up and left to rest for a couple of hours on a draining table and then the cheese is turned several times.