counced with clay, refined with spices, covered with natural moulds. There are many and many truly unusual cheeses that can be tasted 14th edition of Cheesethe dedicated Festival organized by Slow Food in Bra (Cn) from 15 to 18 September.
The 6 cheeses to discover at Cheese
Here then is a guide to six more curious specimens, second Slow foodto be tasted absolutely at the large gathering of raw milk cheeses.
1. Escalaplano’s axridda, pecorino cheese from the heart of Sardinia
In Sardinia they breed about three million sheep. But the milk is mainly sold to cooperative dairies which use it for the production of protected nameswith often standardized production processes that trivialize quality and bring down the price of milk.
Slow Food’s commitment to give a future for Sardinian pastoralism it is for the creation of new Presidia for cheeses linked to the territory that are in danger of disappearing.
L’axridda of Escalaplano, in this sense, is a winning example. Escalaplano is a town of just over 2000 inhabitants, located on the arid plateaus bordered by the deep valleys of Flumendosa and Flumineddu. Here the shepherd Rino Franci guards a unique pecorino in the world.
Sardinian Axridda, cheese in clay (Cheese press office)
The “tanning” with clay protects it
It is a raw sheep’s milk cheese, exclusively of the Sardinian breed. Since ancient times, this pecorino comes completely covered in clay: in Sardinian dialect, in fact, “axridda”, obtained not far from the village. This type of tanning protects the cheese by creating a natural patina which slows down its evolutionary processes. Maintaining a correct degree of humidity in the pasta and defending it from mite and fly infestation. An ancient tradition today often limited to family consumption that the Slow Food Presidium intends to protect and promote, involving other virtuous farmers in the project.
2. Stichelton, from Nottinghamshire (England)
In Nottinghamshire, a county of England in the East Midlands region, Joe Schneider has been making lo Sticheltonblue cow cheese with a typical elongated shape. The name derives from the village Stilton, from the Old English Stichl, style, and Tun, village or hamlet. Joe is the only producer who makes it following the traditional technique and using only raw milk from his farm.
Only raw milk vs DOP and pasteurization
But since since 1996 the Stilton production disciplinary provides for the compulsory pasteurization of milk, its cheese cannot be part of the PDO. All six DOP certified dairies produce over one million wheels a year with a heat treatment that kills the original bacterial flora, depriving the cheese of aromatic richness and identity. Slow Food has decided to support Stichelton with raw milk.
3. The afuega l’pitu of Asturias
In 1981 the Spanish law prohibited the production of raw milk: the decision caused the almost total disappearance of this typical cheese of Asturiasregion of northwestern Spain.
The tradition has actually survived only in the city of Pravia, where they took place Las espichas: parties in which a lot of cider was drunk, accompanied by salty foods to quench thirst. Here a small-scale producer, Pascual Cabaño, resumed production inspired by his grandmotherthan in his room he often made afuega l’pitu as a dessert.
The name of the cheese? It is related to its texture
The peculiar name, meaning in the local language “choke the chicken, or choke the neck”is linked to the consistency of its pasta and to the fact that it sticks a little in the throat. According to legend, if the chicken struggled to swallow it, it was the right time to enjoy it.
The seasoning can last up to 16 months, but it is also customary to consume it fresh, as soon as it is produced. In this case it is called barreña or cuajada and is consumed with the addition of honey or sugar, or even strawberries.
L’afuega l’pitu Cheese can be tasted in a Taste Laboratory and in the Gran Sala dei Formaggi, where Italian and international cheeses can be paired with over 400 labels from the Enoteca.
4. The flowery rinds of French brie cheeses
From France, in the small village of La Boissière-Ecole, the Ferme de la Tremblaye has been producing since 1967 cow and goat cheeses according to the agroecological model. The farm, located on the edge of the famous forest of Rambouillet, in Île-de-France, masters all stages of the production of its cheeses.
Animal welfare makes the difference
From the cultivation of fodder in organic farming to the maturing, up to the management of dairy cows and goats, left in the pasture or in the meadow and raised with the utmost attention to animal welfare.
In the Cheese Market presents soft cheeses with a flowery rind such as brie. But also blue cheeses, some of which benefit from the Fromage Fermier appellation.
5. The blue cow musk
On the Italian market, among the blue-veined products, the bluish color and the intense and pungent flavor of the so-called Cow Moss stands out, among the most appreciated in the Rabbia Dairynow captained by Francesco and Giorgio Rabbia, third generation cheese makers.
Founded in 1890 as an artisan workshop for the production of toma cheeses, the company from Raffia (Cn) makes the most of the biodiversity of the area, from the herbs of the pastures located at the foot of Monviso to the scents of Valle Grana, where the cheeses are left to age.
Copper boilers and manual wrapping with linen cloths
But it also preserves ancient techniques of the dairy tradition: the cheeses, strictly raw milk, are still produced using copper boilers and manual wrapping with linen clothswhich allow you to outline a unique imprint for each process.
The aging cellar of Borgo Affinatori, Asti
6. Cheeses refined by former students
The last mention goes to the company of Barbara Cecchellero and Lorenzo Borgo. They are former students ofUniversity of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (Cn) born and promoted by Slow food. In 2018, after a training course that led them to explore the art of cheese maturation in France and Australia, they gave life to the project in the historic center of Asti Borgo Affinatoriwith the aim of enhancing the production of local farmers.
The creative experiments with pomace, leaves, spices and cocoa
They produce tome, mountain pastures and washed crustsand at Cheese they are offering some of their creative experiments with pomace, leaves, spices and cocoa.
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