TASTE ASOLO

Table of Contents

LOCAL PRODUCTS.
ASOLO SPECIALTIES
BEVERAGES

Wines of Italy. Birra Italiana. Italian Spirits.

Asolo’s cuisine is mostly traditional northern Italian cuisine, some with a local twist. There are cafes and a few taverns in town serving meals of local produce and, of course, the local wines.

You will find an infusion of Venice dishes, as many Venetians would vacation in Asolo.

There is no fast food in Asolo. Sit back and savor the food and the atmosphere.

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Taste Asolo Through Local Products.

Let’s start with some letters. (D.O.P.) Denominazione di Origine Protetta (“Protected Designation of Origin”) and I.G.P. (Protected Geographical Indication)

D.O.P. (P.D.O.) products come from a specific area. They have characteristics due to that particular geoclimatic environment, and production takes place in that region.

Asolo has a cheese for every course and every occasion. — Cheese comes in all shapes and sizes.

Asolo D.O.P. Cheese.

Asiago DOP – is a fresh pasteurized cow’s milk cheese coming from the Italian provinces of Vicenza, Trento, Padova, or Treviso. They heat the milk to form curds that they mature in cheesecloth for 30-40 days. Nearly 75% of the Asiago cheeses produced are Pressato, a semi-soft cheese with irregularly shaped holes. It has a buttery, sweet taste with a little tang and a slightly salty aftertaste. They use it on salads and on sandwiches.
Montasio DOP – is an alpine cheese produced in a number of Veneto provinces. using skimmed cow’s milk, they cook it and press it before aging it for a minimum of two months. The longer it ages, the spicier it becomes.
Casatella Trevigiana DOP – is made with whole cow’s milk and comes in a cylindrical shape. It has a soft paste that is sweet but slightly bitter. It goes great on a slice of bread or with sparkling wine.

P.D.O. and Other Cheeses.

Taleggio PDO – is a mild blue cheese from raw or pasteurized cow’s milk. They form the cheese into squares and age them on wooden planks for at least 35 days. As the cheese ages, it gets crumbly. Because the young cheese melts easily, you will find it in pasta dishes, while an older Taleggio may appear on a cheese plate after dinner.

Taste Asolo local cheese with local wine. It is a match made in heaven. — Taleggio Cheese.

Bastardo del Grappa – is a cow’s milk cheese that gets its name because A) it is from the Mount Grappa area, and B) it is a mixture of two flavors of milk. They milk the cows first in the evening, then again in the morning, and mix the two flavors of milk. They age the cheese from 120 to 180 days, which creates small holes in the pale yellow interior. The result is intense but pleasant. A good cheese for medium white or mild red wines. Also, fruit like apples or pears.
Morlacco di Grappa – is another cheese originating from the Mount Grappa area. This cow’s milk has a fresh and delicate aroma and is soft and creamy. It has a slightly salty and buttery taste with hints of grass and lemons. It goes well with berries, jam, and medium white wines.
Ubriaco – is a cow’s milk cheese with a local spin. During the last few months of aging, they soak the cheese in dry and sparkling Prosecco wine mixed with the pomace from the grape pressing. This soft texture cheese has a floral aroma and a rich, fruity flavor.

Is it wrong to sit and taste Veneto meat and cheeses for the better part of an afternoon? I have. And I will do it again the first chance I get.

Although there are now grocery stores like in the USA, there are still stores, like the butcher and the baker, who specialize in one product. — Salami lined up in a butcher shop.

Fruit and Vegetables.

At one time, every house had a garden either on the property or along the walls. Then came the markets in the middle of town where people would purchase their fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, those markets no longer exist. Today, many people buy them at the grocery store.

Although Veneto has I.G.P. fruits and vegetables, most do not grow right in Asolo. That does not mean that Asolo does not have good fruits or vegetables. Just the opposite, you need to taste Asolo produce and see how good it is.

The Slow Food Foundation has several products in the Veneto area that they are keeping an eye on.

If you forgot what really fresh fruits and vegetables taste like, Asolo is the place for you. — You can tell the time of year by what produce is in the market.

Veneto I.G.P. fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

Radicchio Rosso di Treviso – hails from the provinces of Treviso, Padua and Venice. It has many places on the menu. With its robust but pleasantly bitter flavor, it pairs with salty cheese, smoky meat, or tossed with sweet balsamic vinegar. They also grill, braise, and roast it to add to risotto, pasta dishes, or with grilled meat or fish. Other I.G.P. radicchio includes Chioggia, Verona, and Castelfranco Motley Radicchio
Cimadoro White Asparagus
Badoere green and white Asparagus
Vallata Bellunese Lamon Bean – was, in the old days, the poor people’s meat. These tan-speckled to dark crimson lamon beans are seeing a renaissance with less-meat diets.
Marostica Cherry – This red, sweet, and crunchy cherry comes from the town of the same name, 30 minutes west of Asolo.
Verona Peach – (Pesca di Verona) Grows in the plains near Lake Garda. They are juicy peaches with a sweet to slightly sour flavor.
Combai and Monfenera Chestnuts – come from the areas around Valdobbiadene and its wine region. These sweet nuts are served roasted, boiled, or as a main ingredient in sauces and soups. You will also find them in jams, confectionery, and desserts.

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Taste Asolo Specialties.

Pasta is not the king of carbohydrates in Asolo or Veneto. Instead, you will find rice and polenta as the entree or the primo (first course). Cows produce milk for cheese, and you will not find much red meat on an Asolo menu. However, chicken, duck, quail, and other fowl are usually easy to find. Although Asolo is not on the coast, fresh seafood is still available and usually appears in several dishes.

Taste Asolo pasta — Local produce in local pasta just tastes better.

Starters

There are no specific “Cicchetti” starters that you will only find in Asolo. Although you may find they have an Asolo twist. You can find most of the traditional Italian appetizers made with local Veneto treats, such as Cotechino Modena (sausage) Cremona Salami, local Veneto Mortandela, or Mortadella PGI from Bologna.

You will never look at the cold cut section of your grocery back home the same. — Local meats and cheeses should start every meal.

Cereals

Did you know Italy is the largest rice producer in Europe? Much of the risotto (Arborio and Carnaroli) comes from southern Lombardy to the west. However, in Veneto, you will find many types of rice growing along the Po River, including the Vialone Nano Veronese rice, a P.G.I. product.

There is no limit to what they mix in their risotto. — Risotto rice and a few yummy ingredients.

Taste Asolo Entrees.

What is on the menu will depend on what time of the year you are visiting. Fresh fruits and vegetables in the spring and summer, more hearty meals in the fall and winter.

Expect polenta and risotto year-round, as well as seafood and poultry. Bigoli pasta (whole-wheat spaghetti) holds many things together.

The foods of Asolo are from peasants who made the most out of what they could get. — The recipe for Cassoeula depends on what you have in the house.

Seafood

Although Asolo is miles from the coast, fresh seafood appears on local menus in season.

Bigoli in salsa – is another Venetian import, probably from the Jewish quarter. This dish joins whole-wheat bigoli pasta (similar in size to spaghetti but thicker), local onion, and salt-cured fish. Originally, they would use sardines, but today, you will usually find it with anchovies. After simmering the onions in olive oil and white wine, they add the anchovies and simmer the sauce until the anchovies dissolve. Then, they toss the pasta in the sauce, which has a full flavor.

Sarde in Saor – is a classic Venetian dish. The Venetian fisherman would use a mixture of vinegar and onions (saor) to preserve their stock. Today, the fresh sardines are deep-fried and then marinated in a saor solution.

Taste Asolo Dolce (sweets)

Asolo Polenta Cake – for dessert? There are two versions of polenta. Polenta cake is made all over northern Italy. It combines yeast, cornmeal, salt, flour, sugar, and olive oil to make a thin, dense cake. The Asolo twist is they add their local fruit.

Click on the orange link to read more about Italian cuisine.

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Taste Asolo Beverages

As with the local food, many beers are seasonal.

Taste Asolo Beer

Asolo does not have a craft beer distillery yet. However, there are several places in Asolo where you can taste craft beers from other parts of the Venato.

Ten minutes from the Vill de Maser is the La Ru distillery. They make several beers, including CaberBi, which infusions the flavor of cabernet must from the Asolo Hills.

Asolo Wine

We can not talk about Asolo without talking about the region’s wine. Right in the Asolo area, you have:

Asolo Prosecco D.O.C.G. – All the sparkling wines from this denomination, except the still and frizzante versions, qualify for the Superiore listing.

Montello Rosso D.O.C.G. – For the red (Rosso) drinkers, this D.O.C.G. covers top-quality, red Bordeaux blend-styled wines.

Montello Asolo D.O.C. includes reds, whites, and sparkling wines.

Taste Asolo red, white, and sparkling wines.

Then, within a 30-minute drive from Asolo, you have:

Colli di Conegliano D.O.C.G. – specializing in reds, whites, and dessert wines.

Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco D.O.C.G – Similar to the Asolo Prosecco, almost all of the sparkling wines from this denomination qualify for the Superiore listing.

You can have a very full day(s) tasting Asolo area wines.

Valdobbiadene in the middle of the Prosecco wine region.

Taste Asolo Summary.

Are these all the traditional foods and beverages of Asolo? Hardly! But these will keep you busy for a few days and give you an insight into the local cuisine.

So many people make Asolo a day trip, or worse, just part of a day trip. The town and surrounding area are lovely.