Des Martin represents the essence of mountain pasture cheeses, born from the need to offer a noble and tasty cheese even in the high mountains. Des Martin cheeses are made from raw milk, milked above 1,000 meters above sea level, resulting in products with a unique flavor, in close contact with nature.
The origins
The "Des Martin" idea was born by chance by a group of volunteers with the goal of recovering and enhancing the Grana Valley, in the province of Cuneo, with the aim of creating something unique and sustainable at the same time. The authentic mountain flavor had to be transferred to a cheese production, and so the agricultural company was born with Castelmagno as its flagship cheese. Castelmagno is a crumbly-grained cheese of a beautiful pearly white color, with a lingering aroma and taste reminiscent of the flowers and grasses of highland pastures.
Cheese production
The milk is collected by "gravity" and in the same way continues its processing inside the cheese factory, where it is heated and curdled. The curd is allowed to rest for at least 18 hours, which is necessary for the residual whey to escape. The whey will also be recovered to become a nutritious addition in the cows' meal: nothing is lost and everything is enhanced. All stages of production are artisanal and manual, from salting to pressing. Maturing is the most important time for mountain pasture cheeses; they are stored in cool, damp caves with natural mold for a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 2 years.
