Gardalatte, Provolone “made in Garda”

Claudio Andrizzi
Written by Claudio Andrizzi

It’s one of the last “outposts” in the province of Brescia dedicated to the production of a cheese that i also an icon of the great Italian food tradition: founded in 1965, Gardalatte of Lonato is a dairy cooperative which, in addition to the classic Grana Padano, still produces Provolone, a product whose origins are definitely rooted in the south of Italy, but whose production has also been trasplanted in the north area of the country. Over the past two centuries some of the biggest producers of the south began to move, with their knowledge and production techniques, in the northern plains, in search of a greater availability of milk. Over the years the Provolone has thus evolved into a typical product also in Lombardy, especially in the provinces of Brescia and Cremona, getting a Dop that by no accident is called Provolone Valpadana.

Gardalatte started its production activity in 1968 with the objective to collect, process and enhance the production of the milk producers of Lake Garda, and from the beginning, as well as on the classic Grana Padano, has also focused its production on Provolone, remaining today one of the few who still want to bet on this product.

The growth over time of the cooperative, which associates currently 55 producers and is chaired by Walter Giacomelli, has been exponential: in the early year the milk collected in the associated stables did not exceed an average of 50 thousand hundredweights, in 2014 it exceeded 850 thousand. The amount of milk used to produce Provolone amounted last year to 11%, against the 89% for the Grana. We are then speaking of a niche product, but one which still has its followers, particularly among consumers in central and southern Italiy as well as among the Italian immigrants in countries such as the US, Canada and Australia, who have remained faithful to home traditions.

Gardalatte Provolone, as explained by manager Pietro Frigeri, “is produced exclusively with Garda or Brescia milk, in the Sweet or Spicy variety: this last is by far the most popular as well as the most valuable quality. The cooperative also produces both the Valpadana a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and the own-brand, but between the two types there are no big differences as the starting raw material is the same. Provolone especially appeals to consumers thanks to its beautiful formats, ranging from the Pancette with rounded heads to the classic Mandarins, with sizes from 10 to 50 and occasionally up to 100 kilograms.

Gardalatte Provolone can be bought in the shop near the cooperative in località Cassetta, on the road that leads from Brescia to Desenzano. Here you can obviously also find the Grana Padano.  Gardalatte also grows pigs, and meat from animals raised produces sausages (salami, coppa, pancetta) which can also be bought in the shop.

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