While BelGioioso (pronounced “bel-joy-OH-so”) was officially founded in 1979, the real story begins over a century before in 1877, when Errico Auricchio, the great-grandfather of BelGioioso’s current President, immigrated to America from Italy with his family and two master cheesemakers, with a dream of crafting top-notch Italian cheeses in the United States. Errico started where the best cheese always begins: finding high quality milk. It’s no surprise he found what he was looking for in America’s dairyland of Wisconsin. Errico and his two cheesemakers, Mauro and Gianni, began their business with cheeses familiar to the American palate such as Provolone, Parmesan, and Romano. But their repertoire quickly expanded to flavors previously uncharted in the U.S. with cheeses like Mascarpone, CreamyGorg®, Italico® and American Grana®. Today, BelGioioso produces over 25 different cheeses!
Putting the “Joy” in BelGioioso: About the Cheesemaking Process
It all starts with the best milk in Wisconsin. BelGioioso maintains close, enduring relationships with their partner milk farmers, and produces their cheese nearby to ensure peak freshness. Milk is picked up every day and is promptly made into cheese — “promptly” meaning that milk procured from a cow in the early morning will be transformed into cheese within the same day! Other cheesemakers use milk that has traveled long distances and has been stored for several days, which depletes quality and flavor. BelGioioso also pays a premium for the richest milk, high in protein and butterfat for maximum flavor, and always free of rBST and antibiotics. They even test each batch of milk in their own labs.
From there, the cheese goes through its special fermentation process, beginning with BelGioioso’s own starter cultures made on a daily basis. Starters are made from the whey of previous batches of cheese, added to the new milk at a specific temperature to begin the ripening process. The type of starter culture added to the milk determines what cheese the milk will become. Using their own starters rather than purchasing from a supplier keeps the flavor of BelGioioso’s cheese consistent. Next, the milk gets a dose of rennet to begin curdling — a hands-on process that requires a cheesemaker’s utmost focus. Rennet is a complex set of enzymes that are used in cheesemaking to curdle milk, facilitating coagulation and the separation into solid curds and liquid whey. The cheese is then soaked in salt water, which is known as brining. The salt is absorbed by the cheese, and the salt in turn draws out moisture which helps form the rind. Similar to the curdling step, this process requires concentration and care; variables like acidity, temperature, and salt concentration must all be accounted for to develop proper flavor and texture. Many commercial cheese producers cut corners by adding salt directly to the curd, which creates an uneven and unpleasant distribution of flavor.
Once the brining process is done, the cheeses are moved to special caves for drying. BelGioiso’s cheeses are turned, by hand, every day to guarantee proper rind formation and a consistent distribution of flavor. Then the wheels move one more time to BelGioioso’s aging rooms, where they are carefully monitored around the clock. A lot of commercial cheese producers skip this step, instead adding enzymes to artificially develop flavor and cooking the curd for longer times and hotter temperatures to reduce the cure time. This, as you can imagine, doesn’t taste very good!
Not only does BelGioioso make great cheese, but they take many steps to preserve the environment in their production of cheeses. They simplify their packaging to reduce use of materials, 30% of which are made with recyclable elements. They use in-plant water reuse filtration systems in every factory, along with skylights and motion sensors to conserve energy. They also care for their surrounding communities, and have been longtime supporters of local charities like the Boys and Girls Club!
Moments of Joy at the Deli
You’ll find BelGioioso products starring on some of our favorite sandwiches! We buy large blocks of provolone and slice it in-house for the #26 Frank & Kathy’s Half-Italian Sub. We also buy raw cheese curd from BelGioioso and make fresh mozzarella for the #84 Benno’s Birdie and #55 Gemini Rocks the House. We turn between 700-1000 pounds of curd into fresh mozzarella every month (1 pound of curd yields about 3/4 pound of finished cheese). That’s a lot of joy for your sandwiches!
You’ll also find BelGioioso hiding somewhere very special behind our cheese counter: in our handmade, housemade mozzarella! This mozzarella is made several times a week, salted and available for you to purchase and take home for pizza, caprese, or your favorite use.
Have you ever wanted to learn to make fresh mozzarella and burrata like our Deli kitchen and Zingerman’s cheesemongers? You’re in luck!! We teach a hands-on class several times a month in our Deli kitchen, using … you guessed it, BelGioioso mozzarella curd! You will from our Deli mongers and practice basic and advanced mozzarella making techniques. Best yet, you will get to take the fruits of your labor home to savor. This is one of our most popular classes and we’re constantly adding new dates to our Deli Events Calendar. After honing your skills in class, you can keep coming back to us for your supply of mozzarella curd to make your own fresh mozz at home!