In the Oltrepò Pavese area, a cheese product has been produced for a very long time and has been well established in the various traditions of the area and characterised the different localities where it is produced
In the upper Staffora Valley, 740 metres above sea level, stands Menconico. A pretty village with a medieval layout whose history is inextricably linked to Monte Penice, which is located on the border of the municipal territory. Scholars link the name of this village to "Mons Conicus" from which it would take its name and which means "the place of the great rocks". Manuscripts suggest that in the year 613 Queen Theodolinda passed through on her way to Bobbio to visit St Columba. After the year 1000, Menconico came under the sphere of influence of Varzi until it became part of its fiefdom.
In this municipality, and in the surrounding hilly area, ‘Formaggella‘ is produced, the flavour of which is influenced by the mild climate due to its proximity to the sea.
The term «formaggella» generally identifies a very numerous series of soft cheeses with a soft consistency and, in particular, each locality is able to distinguish its own ‘formaggella‘ from others through different details or aromas used during preparation. Best eaten fresh, it is ideal for spreading on bread or used as an ingredient in various recipes in traditional local cuisine. These cheeses meet modern consumption needs and market demands increasingly inclined to niche production
«Formaggella of Menconico» (also known as ‘Molana‘) is a typical food product with a mild and delicate taste that can become more intense as it matures. It is rather small in size, low and round in shape and weighs between 600 g and 1 kg. Made from whole cow‘s milk, milk enzymes and salt, it has a mild and delicate flavour, with an intensity that becomes more intense as the cheese matures. It involves the use of milk from two milkings, pasteurisation, addition of milk enzymes, coagulation, salting in brine and maturing. This is a typical production of the mountain area, in Brallo di Pregola, an area wedged between Piedmont, Liguria and Emilia, with a climate mitigated by the proximity of the sea
This cheese is part of the long culinary tradition of the Oltrepò pavese; it is a very old recipe that has been impersonated by every single village in this territory that has made it its own. These differentiations stimulate the curiosity of tourists eager to learn even the smallest differences in the products of the territory
