Techniques handed down from one generation to the next are used to transform simple ingredients into products of authentic flavour. Pecorino cheese is a distinctive speciality of this area, where it is still made using artisanal methods. Milk at a temperature of about 35 degrees is poured into a churn. Rennet is added and left to coagulate. After about half an hour, the cheese paste is broken up into small fragments, manually pushing the “spido” tool towards the bottom of the vessel. Part of the paste is used to obtain the curds which will become ricotta cheese.
he curds, still steaming, are transferred to the “fuscèlle” (cheesemaking baskets). Now the cheese has to be manipulated, turning the forms. They are returned to the oven where they spend a couple of hours so that the whey dries. Then they are left in their containers for about two days, after which they are placed in brine for 24 hours before being transferred to the cold cell. During the ageing process, each cheese is turned six times. The wheels, known as masciòcche, weigh from 1 to 2 kilos. Every day the individual cheeses are turned, so that they develop and mature their distinctive fragrance and flavour.