If you look out through these windows now, you’ll find yourself directly above our processing room. What you can see below you are the copper vats, shaped like upside-down bells. Each one can hold around a thousand litres of milk. You should know that this room comes to life very early: cheese production takes place exclusively in the early morning, finishing around 10.00 am, every day of the year, including public holidays.

It all begins by combining the whole milk from the morning with the skimmed milk from the previous evening. The cheesemaker then adds the starter culture: a natural ferment derived from the previous day’s production, rich in indigenous lactic acid bacteria, which sets the transformation process in motion. Immediately afterwards, the milk is heated and calf rennet is added. Within a few minutes, the milk curdles, forming a compact mass: the curd.

This is where the cheesemaker’s skill comes into play. Using a tool called “spino”, the curd is literally broken down into tiny granules, about the size of grains of rice. Immediately afterwards, the heating process begins: steam heats the boiler until it reaches 53–56 degrees. When the cooking is finished, the stirrer stops and the granules settle to the bottom, clumping together into a large mass that rests beneath the hot whey for about an hour.

Now comes the most physically demanding and fascinating stage: the extraction from the bottom of the vat, which our operators carry out using a linen cloth. That large mass is lifted and cut precisely into two equal parts: in fact, a single vat never produces just one wheel, but always two twin wheels. Each is wrapped in its own cloth and placed into the moulds, which will serve to drain off the residual whey and give our Trentingrana its unmistakable shape. It is at this very moment that each wheel is given its identity card: the casein tag. This is a label bearing a unique code that will accompany the wheel forever, allowing all the details of its production to be traced.

The cheese rests for a few days to drain off any remaining whey and dry out, and are then immersed in brine – a solution of water and salt – for around twenty days. This is a crucial stage, as the salt penetrates slowly, imparts flavour, forms a hard rind and prepares the cheese for the long ageing process.

Every single step involves precision, timing and strict rules. It’s a true art of craftsmanship, but how are other cheeses made? Let’s move on to the next stage.