Crescenza
	Product: Raw cheese produced only from fatty whole cow's milk.
	Shape: Crescenza is sold in square loaves of 7.9" per side by 2.4" high. Smaller loaves, weighing either 5.25 oz. or 14 oz., are also available.
	Characteristics: Crescenza has no rind. It is white, with a soft and creamy paste. It tastes milky, with a pasty consistency.
	Consumption: This is a table cheese to be consumed fresh, as a spread on bread or toast. Crescenza is particularly liked by children, due to its mild fresh flavor and its creamy consistency. It is also highly nutritious. It may be dressed with a few drops of oil and pepper. It may also be used as a filling for omelets or ravioli, in polenta, in cheese pies or, melted with butter, as a sauce for pasta.
	Production: Crescenza is made from whole pasteurized cow's milk, heated to 97°F, to which milk from the previous day, with an acidic grade of 22%, is added. Liquid rennet is then added. As soon as the curds form, they are cut into tiny pieces and left to rest in the appropriate molds to purge of as much whey as possible. After salting, the cheese is left to rest for about 8 days, when it is ready to sell. There also exist variations on the cheese, sold under the names "Formagella Bernarda" and "Paglierina." The first, to which goat's milk and saffron are added, is produced in Clusone, a town in the province of Bergamo. The latter is produced in Piedmont, and its name derives from the fact that originally the cheese was aged on straw mats. Paglierina may have a thin rind or none at all, depending on the length of aging. The aged version is covered with a whitish mould, and the impressions of the straw matting are quide evident. Paglierina's flavor is sapid and pasty.
	History: Originally, Crescenza was produced exclusively during the winter months in the Lombardy and Romagna regions. Now it is produced industrially throughout the year. However, the cheese produced in the summer has a paste which is less soft and creamy. Many years ago, in the Lombardy region, custom required that this cheese be served with sweet mustard on Christmas eve.
	Name: The name (which means "growth") refers to the fact that when placed near a source of heat the cheese splits open and releases fat, giving way to a levitation similar to that of bread dough. In the Romagna region, the cheese used to be called squacquaron.
	Storage: The cheese may be kept in the refrigerator wrapped in parchment paper or in its own wrapping. Avoid using tin-foil, as it tends to stick to the cheese. After just a few days, the cheese becomes somewhat bitter and the paste yellows.
	About Italian cheese