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…
Tag: formaggio
Cheese, Glorious Tuma Persa Cheese
Cheese, glorious tuma persa cheese! Even my Sicilian cousin Evelina didn’t know what tuma persa was when I mentioned it to her this summer. It’s *that* unique! Back in July, during our heritage experience day with a family from New Jersey who have roots in Castronovo di Sicilia, our guide Pierfilippo organized a wonderful visit…
Find Your Roots In Sicily
Helping Americans with Sicilian heritage connect to Sicily while researching their roots is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do at Experience Sicily. It is not simply finding names of relatives in the town hall and obtaining official birth certificates. This of course is important; however, I also want you to feel…
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…
Let’s Talk Cheese: Part 5
I left off yesterday, teasing you with tuma, the first, very simple sheep’s milk cheese that is a result of this process I’ve been explaining (or at least, trying to). Cheese making continues to be a mystery to me, which is why I’ve embarked on this journey. Fresh tuma must be eaten within one or…
Let’s Talk Cheese: Part 4
An important step during the heating of the milk is stirring it. The cheese maker takes what looks like a broom (It sort of is.) and continuously stirs to break up the curdling milk (That is, for pecorino cheese, which in this scenario, is what “we are making.”). Once he (or she) is happy with…
Let’s Talk Cheese: Part 3
Once our ladies have been happily and healthfully fed, during the spring, after they’ve given birth, they give the most milk. Sheep are milked twice per day – every 12 hours, let’s say, at 7 a.m. and again at 7 p.m. Slow food and DOP farms milk by hand. Others use machines to milk their…