One class excursion I really enjoyed Agriturismo visit. We had the opportunity to travel to a beautiful lakeside cheese farm where we saw the animals behind the product and the proccesses involved with making cheese. We got to see the man make caciofiore di columella from sheep's milk. After heating the milk, enzymes were added to speed up the process of coagulation. The mixture sits until it forms a thicker texture and is then put through a strainer.
The leftover liquid is then used to make ricotta cheese, a personal favorite of mine. The liquid is heated again and put through the same exact process, but the second rundown forms the softer, more cheese tasting cheese. We tasted both immediately after they were finished, and the caciofiore tasted more like solidified milk to me than actual cheese.
After watching the demonstration, we got to tour the farm and see some of the animals kept for milking purposes. We then listened to a lecture about the wheat that they grow, and although it was not in season, we still got to try our hand at baking it. Wheat, yeast, flour, and a little salt are rolled into dough balls and shaped to the desired formation. Bake it for about forty minutes and you've got yourself some delicious bread.
The facilities at Agriturismo were beautiful and I loved being able to see the "behind the scenes" work involved with making the delicious cheese I've been enjoying here in Italy.
-Sarah
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