Fontina Cheese
A Delicious Italian Cheese
Category – Semi Soft Cheese
Milk – Cow
Flavors – Nutty with a hint of Honey
Country of Origin – Italy
Pronunciation – fahn-TEE-nah
Fontina Cheese was first made in the Alps in the 12th century. It's flavors have a delicate nuttiness with a hint of honey.
Italian Fontina shows a stamp of the Matterhorn on the label. Even though the cheese from Aosta is the original and most famous, production occurs in other parts of Italy, as well as other parts of Euope like Denmark, Sweden and France. There are some pretty good copies made in Italy sometimes called Fontal, they look exactly like the original except for the stamp and label.
The original from Italy has a strong flavor. It's made with raw milk and gets tastier and more aromatic as it ages. Fontina produced in other parts of the world is much milder. The Danish version is the most common type found in the US and differs from the Italian brand by the red wax rind. Italian Fontina has a natural rind that comes from aging, which is usually tan to orange-brown. The Danish version isn't aged as long and therefore much milder than the original Italian version. This cheese makes an excellent choice for sampling on a cheese platter.

If you have ever wanted to
try an authentic Italian Fontina
then go to the link to
get
your hands on some.
Return from Fontina Cheese to Types of Cheese
Or return to Finger Food Recipes Home Page