Cavani family home.
view from Cerasa Farm
Another view from the farm
happy sheep
Up another mountain today about 1000 meters up to Cerasa Farm. The Cavani family is part of a project to save the native breed of Garfagnana sheep. Signora Gemma uses their milk to make pecorino cheese. She explains how she makes the pecorino cheese by starting with the milk to cutting the curd and ladling it into moulds. We then watched her make ricotta from the whey. This is why here, Ricotta is not considered cheese because it is not made with milk, it is made by recooking the whey and making it curdle.
Boiling the milk
Mixing and separating the curd from the whey
Gathering and pulling the curd out to put into forms.
curd resting in pecorino form.
She took us to her cellar where she matures the pecorino cheese.
Gemma showing us her cheese cellar
freshly salted pecorino ready to be aged
Pecorino aging in the cellar
Also on the property are ancient chestnut trees. Each has a small plaque below which tells the birthdate and name of the tree. Yes, they name the chestnut trees on the property.
me. belly full of cheese.
chestnut trees all around
plaque in front of chestnut tree
This blog entry on eatsaintlouis.com™ was originally published on May 22, 2013 @ 11:21 ,on a now-defunct blog, as part of a live blogging event from Tuscany, Italy.
The post The Best Pecorino Cheese I have ever had! appeared first on Saint Louis Food Tours.