Rather than actually being a particular type of cheese, Schìz was originally a way of preparing and eating cheese which was peculiar to the Belluno area. In the mountain dairy huts or latterie turnarie (rotational dairies), where cheese was made according to traditional methods, the curd obtained from semi-skimmed milk was removed from the pot and pressed into the cheese moulds; the excess which seeped out of the moulds was trimmed off and shaped into strips of cheese which were then cut up into pieces and cooked in a pan. This fresh cheese, cooked in a sauce made by adding cream and/or milk, was served with the traditional polenta. Schìz is therefore nothing other than the immediate use of a fresh cheese, a source of food used particularly by the mountain dairy herdsmen in the months spent up in the summer pastures.
Today, Schìz has become a typical cheese, produced with full-fat cows’ milk. The milk is heated back up to the temperature it had at the time of milking, around 35° C. When the rennet is added, the protein substances coagulate and form the curd. The curd is cooked briefly to obtain Schìz, a soft, semi-cooked cheese, which is pressed into square-shaped moulds, which makes it easier to cut into slices. Lightly pressed and unsalted, it is sold extremely fresh.
Schìz is a genuine, versatile cheese which can be used in a multitude of recipes: starters, first courses, main courses and even sweets.