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Say cheese! The real meaning of the famous sentence.

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We’re all smiling in the pictures. This, however, has not always been the case. Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was not common practice to smile for a photograph. According to historical records, the teeth first appeared in 1953. Instead, the first smiles appeared in the mid-1940s.

What is the cause of this change?

There’ s several theories about it. One of the most popular theories is that this habit was invented by American President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II.

It was a painful moment with nothing to laugh about. The war, the economic crisis, the bombs… it appears that Roosvelt decided to instill trust and hope in the population by displaying happy faces.

A form of resiliency, a modern-day revolutionary gesture. That smile contained the following promise: Come on, the war is about to end, and we will be fine again.

However, there’s another theory that would explain the use of the word “cheese,” when about to take a photograph.

A good English photographer wandered through the valleys of Friuli many years ago in search of the perfect photograph.

The scenery was beautiful, and the light was fantastic, but his boss kept saying he wanted something more… Something unique: something that had never been seen in a photograph before.

As a result, the photographer attended a village festival where farmers and shepherds displayed the fruits of their labor. And he thought that portraying those traditional figures would be a good idea, so he gathered a group of local men and women and asked them to pose for him in a serious and professional manner.

Those, on the other hand, kept smiling, and the photographer turned to see where they got their happiness. And he realized it. Behind him was the Montasio Dop display, and they were just cutting a large ivory wheel and arranging many cubes of soft Montasio on large porcelain plates to allow the tasting.

His photos became famous because they were unique, and he never forgot to ask anyone who posed for him to say: cheese!

And the choice has never been more appropriate: the calcium and phosphate found in Montasio are true allies of the smile. They aid in the regeneration of tooth enamel and minerals depleted by use.

Are you ready for a happy family selfie?

Serve me a risotto and I am happy!

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Sonia Paladini, food blogger, pronounces these words before starting to narrate her recipe for Risotto with Montasio and Chanterelles. 

A delicate first course, but full-bodied thanks to the presence of Montasio Pdo, which perfectly matches with the sweet, intense taste of finferli mushrooms. These are collected from July to September, and are perfect to flavor first and second dishes. Montasio, mountain cheese with a soft and delicate taste and a balanced composition: 32 – 36% water, 32 – 34% fats, 24 – 26% proteins, combines with this type of mushroom for a savory, healthy and refined first course.

Here follows the recipe of Sonia Paladini.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

  • 320 g of Carnaroli rice
  • 100 g of fresh Montasio Pdo
  • 100 g of fresh milk
  • 150 g of chanterelles
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 50 g of onion
  • Extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
  • A drizzle of dry white wine
  • 1 liter of vegetable broth
  • Butter (to taste)
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Ground pepper (to taste)
  • Sprigs of parsley

Procedure:

First of all, the Montasio sauce: put 100 g of milk and 100 g of Montasio in a small pot and heat the two ingredients until they melt. Turn off the stove and chill the sauce in the refrigerator.

Clean the mushrooms: wipe them with a soft brush and rinse with current water. Dry them and remove the ends.

Clean the garlic cut in half and remove the green germ. Fry it in a non-stick pan with extra virgin olive oil. Cook chanterelles on a lively flame for a few minutes adding a little bit of broth. Then spice with salt and pepper.

Prepare a vegetable mixture: clean and chop the onion finely, fry it in a large saucepan together with extra virgin olive oil and butter.

Add and toast the rice, then soften with the white wine. Cook the rice adding hot broth little by little.

When rice is ready, add half of the Montasio sauce and a nut of butter, stir to cream it and let it rest-covered-for about one minute.

Prepare individual plates and embellish them with the remaining Montasio cream, mushrooms, a little oil and some sprigs of parsley.

Enjoy!