Over the centuries Italy has developed a rich cheesemaking tradition. As a result, there are very many types of Italian cheese. Although each Italian cheese is unique due to the specific method used to produce it and subtle differences in milk and other ingredients, there are also similarities between the cheeses.

Asiago is one of the most popular Italian cheeses. In this article we are going to learn a bit about it, but also some Asiago cheese alternatives that can be used in a similar way.

Asiago, a cheese of two faces

Asiago is a cheese, which in its original, authentic form, is made in the alpine area of northern Italy. There are two types, which are produced and are different to each other.

The first one is Asiago Pressato (pressed). This name refers to the fact that in the production process the cheese is pressed to get out as much remaining moisture as possible. The resulting cheese has only a short maturing period of 20 to 40 days. The final product is soft, elastic and had a yellowish color.

The second type is Asiago d’Allevo (raised up i.e. aged). This cheese has a slightly different method of production, but the main difference is that it is left to age for longer. It can be left for anything from 3 months to more than 18 months to produce Mezzano (middle), Vechio (old) or Stravechio (very old) varieties. These cheeses are much harder and crumblier than the pressato and offer varying tastes.

The Asiago Pressato is a good cheese for slicing and adding to sandwiches. The Asiago d’Allevo varieties or on the other hand much harder cheeses so lend themselves to grating and use primarily as a flavoring for various different dishes.

Grana Padano, an Asiago rival!

Grana Padano can be seen as a close neighbor to Asiago cheese, both literally and figuratively. It originated from a region of Italy not far from where Asiago cheese originated. Like Asiago it can be aged to three different degrees, producing three different types of hard cheese. These all have a crumbly, grainy texture hence the name ‘Grana’.

Due to its hardness, Grana Padano is also mainly used as a grating cheese, although there are a number of dishes that use it as a side or even main ingredient. In terms of production, it is made using cows’ milk, at least some of which has been skimmed. The cows are pasteurized in a region of Italy not far from those whose milk is used for Asiago thus both final cheese products have a similar taste.

As a result, if Asiago cheese is not available or if you want to try something a little different, Grana Padano can readily be used as a substitute for Asiago d’Allevo, the hard version of Asiago cheese. Grana Padano is specifically produced as a hard cheese, so isn’t, however, going to be able to replace Asiago Pressato as a sandwich cheese.

Provolone to the sandwich rescue

If you are looking for an alternative to the soft, sweeter Asiago Pressato cheese, provolone dolce is a good option. Provolone cheese is also manufactured in Northern Italy, particularly in the North East. It is however made slightly differently to Asiago. The cheese curd is from full-fat milk and it is kneaded before being hung up to dry and age, as opposed to Asiago which is cut when in curd form, placed in a cylindrical wheel metal container and pressed to get out excess moisture.

Provolone can be aged for just a few months to produce provolone dolce, a mild, sweet tasting cheese which is a good alternative to Asiago Pressato. There is also Provolone Piccante, which is provolone that has been aged for longer. It has a stronger, distinctive less sweet taste, but is not So crumbly and so is not such a good replacement for Asiago d’Allevo.

Pecorino Romano and other less well-known options

Pecorino Romano is another famous Italian hard cheese. It is made from sheep’s milk ( hence the name pecorino which means sheep in Italian) and originated it in the countryside around Rome, which is where the Romano part of the name comes from. It is a cheese that keeps for a very long time and as such was a popular food ration for Roman soldiers in ancient times.

Pecorino Romano has a sharp, salty taste and due to its hardness, its main use is as a grating cheese to give flavour to different dishes. In this sense, it can be used as an alternative to Asiago d’Allevo in dishes that need some extra flavour.

Another less well-known Italian cheese, which could work well as an alternative to Asiago d’allevo is Baita Friuli. This is also a hard cheese with a salty, sharp taste, but it is produced in smaller quantities, and so ages faster. A batch can be ready in as little as 5 to 6 months thus lessening production costs.

A vegan solution that could be used in the place of Asiago d’Allevo and indeed the various other cheeses mentioned above, which are obviously milk based and so not animal product free, is nutritional yeast flakes. Nutritional yeast is simply a yeast culture that has been heated to kill the active bacteria and then dried to produce yeast flakes. These flakes have a strong flavour, not unlike many of the cheeses mentioned above, so can be added as a vegan suitable flavoring to many dishes in place of grated cheese.

Two other natural, non-dairy alternatives to flavour various different dishes would be seasoned breadcrumbs or even more natural, diced oil-cured olives. Both of these can be sprinkled on or into foods to give extra taste.

Trial and error make perfect.

Overall then, we have seen that there are many alternatives to using Asiago cheese, both based on using other cheeses or even just non-dairy based products to give flavour. This means that by trying out different options, various enhancements can be made to dishes, either for the sake of variety or just to be able to get around the problem of not having Asiago cheese or finding it for sale in the local supermarket.