Typical Products

Thanks to the patient work of the farmers in Valsabbia, it has been possible to create the flavours of the foodstuffs on the tables of the consumers. From the culinary traditions and the secrets of the family productions, the local companies have preserved and handed down the art of flavours and flavoursome dishes and recipes. In Valle Sabbia, the farms have left the land in the valley floor to the urbanization by occupying localities more peripheral. Doing this, they adapted their production to the requirements of the modernization but leaving unchanged the methods to produce foodstuff with unique characteristics.
Delicious quality fresh milk is harvested from the mountains, in the ‘malghe’ and farms scattered throughout the territory. From this milk a cheese with unmistakable flavours is produced by skilled dairymen, who take great pride and care in aging their product.
The most famous cheese is the BAGOSS, which is typical of the Commune of Bagolino and has been produced since the 16th century, preserving its organoleptic characteristics. Its reputation has crossed the national borders, receiving important acknowledgments and awards and becoming an efficacious means of promotion for Valsabbia.

The Bagoss is a real happiness delight for the palate.The Bagoss is produced by 32 small farms joined together in the cooperative Valle di Bagolino. It is a delightful pleasure for the taste buds thanks to its characteristics: a pale yellow crust that becomes orange-brown with age, a grainy consistency and an aromatic flavour. The cheese can be eaten in slivers or cooked on the fire, or rather used in the preparation of dishes such as the ‘mareconde’, the ‘malfatti’, the ‘penne alla bagossa’ and the ‘casonelli ripieni’.
There are also several types of fresh and aged cheese produced all over the interior of Valsabbia. In particular the fresh cheese, known as ‘formagella’, has an unique taste as it is produced with fresh full cream milk, keeping with old methods and traditions.Also, the goats cheese is produced in many farms of Valsabbia. In fact, there are numerous activities producing cheese and other by-products of goats milk.
The salame of Valsabbia is appreciated for its peculiar flavour, structure and smell.
In order to satisfy the most exigent and fussy palates the production of jam is very important. There are refined jams with small fruits of the mountains such as blackberry, raspberry, blueberry and the special small strawberry of the wood, known as ‘fragoline di bosco’.
Among the typical dishes there is the ‘spiedo’ (spit) which is an excellence for the most cultivated tastes. The dish is prepared throughout Valsabbia and is composed of various types of meat such as chicken, pork, fresh salami, small birds and potatoes. The potatoes have a wonderful flavour because they are grown under the ‘patus’, which is the recycled hay that is not used for the cattle and keeps an ideal humidity in the soil. The spiedo is served with large pieces of polenta, which is a semisolid mixture made with corn flour.
Finally, there are dishes that are prepared with the fresh fish that live in the rivers and Lake Idro. Perhaps the Perch is the most appetizing and mouthwatering fish and is prepared in different ways: stewed, baked, or in crumbed fillets.
Finally, there is the bitter sugar made with officinal herbs that favour the digestion.