Having an opportunity to go directly to the caseificio (dairy) when the famer is making cheese from the morning’s milking — and my favorite, ricotta (re-cooked whey from the cheese, pictured) right out of the cauldron – wow, there is nothing like it! Grab some warm, sesame-laden bread and bring your appetite because you’ll experience…
Tag: caseificio
Cheese, Glorious Cheese: Sheep’s Milk Cheese In Sicily
Cheese, glorious cheese! Sheep’s milk cheese that is. In 2018, I wrote a nine part series about cheese making. “Let’s Talk Cheese” can be viewed starting at https://experiencesicily.com/2018/07/08/lets-talk-cheese-part-1/ Once you read Part 1, scroll to the bottom of the ExperienceSicily.com page to “Next Post” to continue. I know you never took cheese for granted before…
360 Degrees Of Etna
Live from Sicily! The villages of Etna hosted our curiosities today. We started the morning eating sheep’s milk ricotta warm out of the cauldron along with honey drizzled doughnuts. When we visited the town of Zafferano Etnea, we learned some local mythology and about what it’s like to live on Europe’s most active volcano. This…
Let’s Talk Cheese: Part 9
In the Valle del Belice in Trapani Province, Sicily, they produce a DOP (Denominazione d’Origine Protetta or Protected Designation of Origin) certified “pasta filata” (stretched/pulled) cheese called Vastedda della Valle del Belice. The name, vastedda, comes from the local Sicilian language–vasta means “gone bad.” In other words, the cheese is made from pecorino cheese that…
Let’s Talk Cheese: Part 8
So, my tips when visiting the caseificio/cheese maker/dairy farm is to arrive early (8:30? You’ll have to ask their schedule.) to watch the process. But most importantly, to taste the tuma and ricotta right off of the draining table, when it’s still warm. Go hungry, and bring with you a few rolls of freshly baked,…
Let’s Talk Cheese: Part 7
Once the curds have formed and have begun to float to the top of the mixture in the cauldron, the cheese maker is on a schedule. Careful to not overcook the curds, he removes them from the heat and then methodically scoops the now ricotta cheese into a different set of plastic baskets that are…
Let’s Talk Cheese: Part 6
If you’ll recall from Part 4 of this series, when the cheese maker pressed the curds in the baskets, from them whey drained into a bucket below the stainless steal, angled tub. Let’s talk about what happens with that liquid, which is sheep’s milk that has been heated and treated with a cocktail of good…
You Ricotta Me at Hello
I’ve got ricotta on my mind… Partially because this weekend in Vizzini (Catania province), the home of the writer Giovanni Verga, they are celebrating the 43rd Ricotta and Knowledge Festival.