Brös
A pungent cheese-and-grappa preserve from Piedmont and Liguria.
Brös is a Piedmontese and Ligurian preparation of cheese and grappa, historically typical of the peasant cuisine of the Upper Langa and West Liguria. Its pungent flavour inspired the proverb “Only love is stronger than Brös”. The name may derive from Bresse.
Quick Facts
- Region
- Piedmont and Liguria
- Main ingredients
- Cheese, grappa
- Alternative names
- Bros
- Bross
- Brus
- Bruss
Facts from the source article.
History
The antiquity of Brös is unknown, though it was probably well-established before the early nineteenth century, when Vittorio di Sant’Albino described it in his Piedmontese-Italian dictionary. Originally, pieces of stale, hard or mouldy cheese were mixed with homemade grappa, sometimes with butter and spices, and left to ferment in an earthenware container until creamy. It was then covered and kept as a preserve. In recent years, the traditional formulation has largely been replaced by one based on fresh cheeses such as Robiola and white wine.
Similarities
Brus da ricotta is a version without wine or grappa, made in various parts of Piedmont by fermenting sheep's milk ricotta for a month or more and aromatizing with chilli or black pepper; it has been recognized as a traditional Piedmontese product. Bruzzu is a similar non-alcoholic product based on ewes’ milk ricotta, produced in the communes of Triora, Molini di Triora and Cosio di Arroscia in western Liguria. It was referred to by the government enquiry into agriculture chaired by Stefano Jacini in 1877–1882, remained popular until the 1990s, and enjoyed a revival in the first decade of the twenty-first century, being included in the Ark of Taste catalogue. The ricotta is placed in moulds to drain, then transferred to wooden vats to ferment with salt, aged about a week, and comes in various sizes with a creamy texture and ivory or brownish-white colour.
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