The cherry on top? No, we put it on cheese.

We have always thought that the cherry should go on the cake, but we recommend the cherry also on cheese. Raw or in a fruit salad with water and sugar, we can add it to some fresh goat ricotta or dense yogurt, thus reproducing an excellent fruity and fresh effect of the fruit.

If we make cherries into jam, like the splendid Durone cherries from Illasi of large caliber, very tasty, and we add some spices such as a bit of clove or some cinnamon sticks, then the personality of the cherry is more inclined to complement various types of cheese. In particular, this time of year, with fresh and creamy cheeses of goat and cow's milk.

A nice Robiola di Roccaverano DOP with cherry jam or the Visciole in Syrup, one of our new entries. Excellent also on some fresh pecorino mixed with some peppercorns. Alternatively, they gently accompany aged cheeses such as Occelli al Barolo or the great Blu 61 by La Casearia Veneta by the Carpenedo family. This is about enhancing the red components of the wine in the first case and the intense taste of the wild berries in the second. It’s best to use both cherry jams and cold Cantiano visciole in syrup. The temperature increases their density and consistency. Moreover, it enhances the thermal shock on the palate that supports the pleasure and depth of the fruity sensation.

A thrilling pairing is the wild Viscio with one of the most intriguing cheeses aged by Giuseppe Bernardinelli of Sapori del Portico in Valpolicella: try his Blu Dominik with rum and cocoa. Let a few visciole drip well beside the cheese and… I won’t say more. Enjoy!

Bernardo Pasquali