Made in wheels 3.5 inches thick x 12-14 inches in diameter; 17-25 lb.

In the traditional making of Asiago d’Allevo the evening milk stands overnight for 10-12 hours at 60-64 °F and is skimmed in the morning. Evening milk is blended with morning milk to have 3.3-3.6% fat depending on season.
The cheese can also be made from one milking, which is skimmed, for a harder lower fat cheese or Blended milk can be standardized by mechanical separation to have same fat content as above

Heat raw milk to 89-93 °F
Add starter culture (Add 1/10th the amount of starter if evening milk has been standing overnight) use:

EZAL TA050 + EZAL LH100
0.5U per 200 lb. milk + 0.1- 0.3 U per 200lb. milk
or
0.5 lb. Rosell Thermo C bulk culture or 0.5 lb. CSL GR14 or GR15 bulk culture per 200 lb. milk

(Double the amounts of starter culture for pasteurized milk)

After 30-45 minutes add 9 ml single strength rennet to 100 lb. milk

Check for curdling point and multiply time by 2.5 to get time of waiting from adding rennet to cutting; usually is 20-25 minutes Cut curd into rice grain to corn kernel-sized particles; takes about 5-10 minutes

Heat steadily while stirring curds and whey to 104 °F in 20 minutes
Cook at this temp. for 15-20 minutes until curds are no longer sticking
Heat to 116-118 °F in 20 minutes Cook at this temp. until curd is firm enough. Curds should be very springy and easy to rub apart in the palms of your hand.

Allow curds to settle to bottom for 20-30 minutes
Gather all curds in a cake and drag a coarse cheese cloth underneath to bind them Lift curd cake out of vat in the cloth and let the whey drain off for a few minutes

Divide curd cake into pieces to fit the press forms
Press about one hour until the wheels are formed
Take off press, remove cloths, turn wheels, replace with smooth cloths dipped in brine, and press again
Turn wheels 1-2 more times during pressing if possible
Leave on press overnight; keep the room at 72-76 °F

Next morning remove wheels from press and move to the brine room at 50-55°F.
After 24 hours brine the wheels for 4-5 hours per lb.
Turn the wheels in the brine once per day and sprinkle dry salt on the tops

Affinage
Aging at 55-59 °F and 85% RH with moderate ventilation:
After removing from brine scrub rinds with a brush dipped in saturated brine or rub by hand with dry salt every 3-4 days for 2 months. Turn the cheeses over every time you do this. After 2 months, the scrubbing or rubbing can be done just enough to prevent discoloration. The rind will become harder and leathery and change from straw-colored to light brown. The cheese may also be rubbed with “sultz, “ a mixture of wine, yeasts, salt and spices during aging (this is mentioned in Cheesemaking Practice by Scott)
This cheese can age for 2 years or more and will have a darker brownish colored rind.

Defects are observed after two months when the cheeses become huffed and gassy inside.
The cheeses may even split apart because of excessive gas formation. The flavor should be more like “Swiss” and the texture very open with lots of gas holes and lateral slits. This is due to a high level of Propionic bacteria in the milk and is common if the salt content is too low and/or aging room temp. is too high.
If the cheese is very gassy and the flavor is unclean then the cheese is contaminated with Clostridia bacteria, which grow well in fermented feeds such as corn silage, green chopped grass silage, and wrapped bales, and carry over into the milk.

Asiago Grasso Monte:
Whole milk from one or more milkings can be used to produce this semi-soft, full fat cheese. This Asiago is made during the summer months on the Asiago plateau in the foothills of the Dolomites. Raw milk is used. The cultures in the above recipe should work well. The milk is coagulated at 95-97 °F. The curd is cut into large pea-sized pieces and cooked to 118-123 °F before draining and pressing. The cheese is dry salted and aged 30-50 days. The paste of the cheese has a pale straw color, numerous holes and a delicate taste. If you want to try this you could use raw milk and age the cheese for 60 days.