Bel Paese Cheese
The Beautiful Country

Bel Paese Cheese is a semi-soft cheese from Italy. It comes from the Lombardy region and was invented by Egidio Galbani in 1906 who wanted to create a cheese that was mild, delicate and could compete with the soft French cheeses. The name "Bel Paese" is Italian for "Beautiful Country".

Bel Paese has a light, mild, milky aroma. It is aged for 6-8 weeks.
Authentic Bel Paese can be determined by the wrapper. It has a picture of Antonio Stoppani. He's a famous Italian paleontologist and geologist. The U.S. versions shows a map of the Americas.

It has a mild flavor and pairs up nicely with dry red and white wines with a fruity flavor. It has an ivory color with a some tiny holes. It's too firm to spread but also too soft to slice. It melts easily and is mostly eaten as a dessert cheese or before dinner on cheese plates. Like Fontina cheese it's commonly used instead of mozzarella on pizza.

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