There are two reasons that make Abruzzo a region with a calling for dairy products. On the one hand Abruzzo has an ancient history of sheep farming that holds a skilled tradition of dairy production. On the other, the variety of forage on which herds and flocks still feed today on the high summer pastures of the Gran Sasso, the Alto Sangro and the Piano delle Cinquemiglia. Variety of forage means flavours and aromas that are by now rare, if not absent, in industrial dairy production.
The regional products of Abruzzo are each born with a precise local identity, tied to the municipalities and villages, some of them more or less well known. Castel del Monte, Atri, Rivisondoli, Farindola, Camarda. But we don't have to wait for someone to tell us that the typical origin of these cheeses amounts to a “patent of nobility”. Direct experience is empirical proof. You cannot remain indifferent to the variety and the fragrance of the flavours of Abruzzo cheeses.
The caci, the caciotte, the goat's cheeses, the ricottas, the giuncate; we ought to tell you about the pecorinos, the semi-aged cheeses or the canestrati, we would never finish telling you the immense story of the varieties, the methods, the countless ways of ageing. Nor would we ever finish telling you about the varieties of cheese made from the milk of the many breeds of sheep and cattle.
Among them all, however, a few products of excellence must be mentioned, such as the Pecorino di Farindola and that of Atri, the Caciofiore aquilano and the incanestrato of Castel del Monte.
PECORINO DI FARINDOLA
Pecorino di Farindola is born on the slopes of the eastern side of the Gran Sasso; its production is distributed and protected by a consortium in which the municipalities of Arsita, Bisenti, Carpineto della Nora, Castelli, Civitella Casanova, Farindola, Montebello di Bertona, Penne and Villa Celiera take part.
To make this strongly flavoured cheese, milk is used from the Pagliarola Appenninica sheep, a breed widespread in central Italy which we have already mentioned when talking about sheep farming and the traditional eating of Abruzzo arrosticini.
It is a pecorino with a quite unique aroma, characterised by a rather strong flavour; its production in fact takes place, unlike other cheeses, thanks to rennet obtained from the stomach of the pig. The custom of using pig rennet naturally recalls the ancient history of Abruzzo sheep farming and the strong link with the Roman cheesemaking tradition, which made use of this kind of rennet.
PECORINO D'ABRUZZO
Abruzzo pecorino is made throughout the region, with a particular calling in the upper part of the province of Teramo. Pecorino is made from sheep's milk and differs from other pecorinos because of some important differences in the production process, ranging from the way the rennet is prepared to the choice of ageing times. Even within Abruzzo itself we find an enormous variety of flavours, which mostly correspond to different production choices.
Pecorino is made according to some basic principles valid for most pecorinos: the milk is brought to a temperature of about 35-38° C. To coagulate the milk, rennet is added, usually in its liquid form. Once coagulation is reached, the curd is broken, strictly by hand. After a short rest the curd is pressed into the moulds, the so-called fasce, so as to give the cheese its cylindrical shape.
For salting, the cheese obtained in this way is passed through brine baths and then left to dry, which takes about twenty days. From here the wheels of pecorino are moved to the ageing rooms, which are usually rather damp. In these rooms the wheels of pecorino take on scents and aromas thanks to the typical moulds that form on the rind. The finished product, depending on how long it has spent ageing (from 40 days up to 2 years), is a cheese with a thick, rather hard rind, with shades of colour ranging from hazelnut to variations of ochre yellow. The flavour is generally sharper the more advanced the ageing.
How you use pecorino d'Abruzzo can vary according to your own taste. You can use it as the classic topping for pasta dishes, or as a seasoning for brothy dishes. It can be savoured on its own or at the end of a meal, accompanied by aged red wines with great structure and intense aromas.
The non plus ultra for true connoisseurs is to savour pecorino with jellies of Trebbiano d'Abruzzo or Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.
To the hiker who likes to linger over what mountain agriculture can offer, we always recommend trying the local produce of the regions visited. Italy is one of the countries with the widest variety of cheeses, wines and cured meats on the whole planet.
A hike can always end with a visit to a village; it is always possible to buy some cheese from a cheesemaker, or a bottle of wine or oil from a farmer. Even if the price may sometimes seem excessive to us (compared with the usual tasteless supermarket cheese), buying typical regional products is the best way to deepen our knowledge of Italian gastronomy seriously, to get to know the variety of products, and to experience the genuineness and complexity of typical flavours.
Mountain cheeses can also be bought at the Campo Felice dairy.