CHEESE FROM TUSCANY
The collective storytelling project Tasting cheese increases with the cheese storyteller Luca Cantone, who tells us i cheeses from Tuscany.
Luca, born and lived in Tuscany, is a lawyer specialized in agri-food law and food safety, and is the author of the blog Life at LargoBaleno where he talks about his passion for all-round food.
We asked him what his preferences are for cheeses, and here are his answers.
What is the cheese in your area to which you are most attached for sentimental reasons and why?
«I am particularly attached to Pecorino Toscano DOP, because it is the first cheese ever that I have had the pleasure of studying in its entire supply chain, for a project on animal welfare legislation, thanks to the availability of the producers belonging to the Consortium, and its President and Director. It was the cheese that introduced me to the dairy sector as a fan and not just as a consumer ».
Which cheese do you prefer to eat "absolute"? And which one do you prefer to use in gastronomic preparations?
«I recently approached the world of goat cheeses and I find that they are so tasty in the mouth, to make them perfect to eat "absolute". In particular on a farm in Gambassi Terme (FI) I happened to taste one Mouth purely lactic processing of the French type with raw milk, aged two weeks, ottima.
As for the gastronomic preparations, invece, I find the perfect Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane, which is very versatile and with an unmistakable flavor ».
CHEESE FROM TUSCANY
by Luca Cantone
Tuscany is traditionally called the "Land of the Caci”, in fact the particular morphology and the conformation of the territory have always allowed grazing in the wild of dairy animals and in particular sheep and therefore the production of a great variety of cheeses.
Dairy art has assumed a primary role in Tuscany sinceEtruscan era, when vegetable rennet was used for the first time to store milk in the form of cheese. Pastoralism was confirmed as central even later between the economic activities of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance until 1701 when in General Salt Law, promulgated by the Grand Duke, the cheese is placed side by side with the ham by making official its place on the tables of Tuscany.
To date, many traditional festivals have remained alive that put cheese at the center of attention, come il Palio dei Caci of Volterra or the Pienza fair which ends with the “Game of melted cheese”.
In Conclusion, to summarize the relationship between our land and cheese and the respect we have for this product, we just need to remember a historic Tuscan proverb that says "formaggio, bread and pears is a knight's meal”.
Pecorino Toscano DOP
The best known cheese of the region is obviously the Pecorino Toscano, recognized PDO by 1996. It is a cheese made exclusively from whole sheep's milk and can be fresco (or soft paste), with a maturation period of at least 20 giorni, oppure stagionato (o the semi-hard paste), after a maturation of at least 120 giorni.
The whole production phase must take place in the territorio of origin indicated in the Disciplinary, which includes all of Tuscany and some of the municipalities of Umbria and Lazio. This is because there is a close link between the finished product and the territory, essential to obtain a cheese with a unique flavor. Thanks to the conformation of Tuscan landscapes, it is possible to guarantee the extensive grazing of the sheep, and a nutrient that makes the milk rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin E.
Il flavor del Pecorino Toscano DOP is defined in the Production Regulations as "fragrant and accentuated". The flavor and personality of the cheese make it ideal both as a table cheese, in combination with sweet mustards if fresh or spicy if seasoned, both as grated cheese, to flavor your dishes.
Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane DOP
Among the great Tuscan cheeses, mention should be made of Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane, recognized PDO by 2015 even if produced by 1400. This Pecorino owes its name to the historic city of Volterra which is located in the heart of the Maremma, perched on a hill as per Etruscan tradition (hence the reference to the Balze).
Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane is produced in the municipalities of Pomarance, Montecatini Val di Cecina, Castelnuovo Val di Cecina, Monteverdi, as well as in the municipality of Volterra, all in the province of Pisa. It has the particularity of being the first Italian DOP cheese to vegetable rennet. In fact, it is produced exclusively with raw milk and with the rennet obtained from the flower of the wild cardoon or the artichoke.
Typical is also the method of raising sheep, which is semi-wild and which provides for 70% of their feeding from pasture. At each stage of the production cycle, inoltre, are strictly excluding GMOs.
Il flavor Pecorino finish is delicate, refreshed and flavored by the use of local herbs and flowers, intensity variable according to the period of seasoning. In this regard, there are four types of Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane: fresco, da 7 a 44 retention days; semi-cured, da 45 days a 6 mesi di stagionatura; stagionato, da 6 a 12 mesi di stagionatura; da asserbo, con oltre 12 mesi di stagionatura.
This variety of flavors characterizes this Pecorino giving it extreme versatility in the kitchen, suitable to be eaten as an appetizer, as table cheese and as grater cheese.
Pecorini
There are really many Pecorini in Tuscany and they are all very good (seeing is believing). Among the cheeses made with sheep's milk, the best known and most used are undoubtedly the Pecorino from Fossa del Greppo (hard pasta, medium-long seasoning); the Grande Vecchio of Montefellonico (whose name refers to the long seasoning, of at least 10 mesi); the marzolino (delicato, soft and historically produced in the spring, with the milking of March); finally the Guttus, a blue cheese typical of the Maremma area, also called the "Gorgonzola di Pecora".
Then there are the Pecorini flavored with other tasty foods typical of the area such as pine nuts from San Rossore o il Chianti Classico, or with typical ingredients of other regions that go well with the typical taste of Tuscan cheese, come il pistachio from Bronte.
Raviggiolo
Among the ancient cheeses, it is necessary to include the Raviggiolo (o Raveggiolo). It is a typical Tuscan cheese which owes its origins to the peasant tradition of the recovery: it was usually produced with the little milk available in the winter which was not sufficient for other processes and which would otherwise have been disposed of.
Raviggiolo is a cheese fresco, commonly produced with cow's milk, but sometimes also sheep or goat. It is a soft and rind-free cheese, with a sweet and sweet taste in the mouth.
Due to its simple taste it is usually used in the kitchen as a filling for fresh pasta or as a basic ingredient of savory pies and sometimes of cheese-based desserts. But it is greatly appreciated, especially in the summer, in its simplicity seasoned only with Tuscan oil.
Other cheeses
Other cheeses that can be appreciated in Tuscany are those produced with cow's milk, ad esempio il Cacio Amiatino and the Caciotta della Lunigiana, less common and known but with an unmistakable flavor; and those produced with milk caprine, that are catching on with the proliferation of young companies.
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Here our visit to Caseificio Sociale Manciano https://allassaggio.it/assaggi-di-maremma/
The shots are by Luca Cantone, unless otherwise indicated.