Testun

Semi hard crumbly cheese, made from sweet grassy milk of cows or sheep who have grazed in the high Alps, 'testun' means stubborn in Piedmontese dialect, because it is so difficult and time-consuming to produce, taking 12 months to age.

One version is aged in chestnut leaves (Testun al foglie de castagno), which gives the cheese a caramel aroma and nutty flavour, but perhaps the most popular is the Testun al Barolo, aged for four months in a oak barrel full of the residue of Nebbiolo grapes—the same used to make Barolo wine—and assuming a fruity wine flavour.