Say Cheese! The Details of Da Vinci's Favorite Dairy Delicacy
Say Cheese! The Details of Da Vinci's Favorite Dairy Delicacy
By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures
Did you know that Leonardo da Vinci had a favorite cheese?
Today, after falling into a thoroughly enjoyable rabbit hole on cheese-making, I learned about a remarkable Italian cheese called Montebore.
Montebore is produced in the northern mountain regions of Italy and first appears in written records around the year 1300. At the height of its popularity, it was widely made and well-loved. Today, however, only a handful of cheesemakers continue the tradition, keeping the recipe and the patience it requires alive.
It is a fresh cheese, made primarily from full-fat sheep’s milk blended with a smaller portion of cow’s milk, roughly a seventy-thirty ratio. The cheese is formed in a distinctive tiered shape, resembling a small wedding cake, is lightly salted, and is aged for just 20 to 30 days.
Montebore is also the recommended cheese for rabaton, a traditional cheese-and-gnocchi dish, proof that some foods are meant not only to be admired but also put to good use.
It turns out that Leonardo da Vinci himself was something of a nutritionist. His diet, composed largely of vegetables, grains, and cheeses, would impress many modern dietitians. He believed strongly in simple, well-chosen, thoughtfully prepared meals, and he encouraged others to eat the same way.
Reading about his eating habits sent me down yet another trail. After his death, one cookbook was found in da Vinci’s library: On Right Pleasure and Good Health by Bartolomeo Platina, first published in 1470. It is now out of print.
Perhaps the recipes weren’t that good.
Or perhaps they were so sensible that no one thought to preserve them.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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