|
Caciocavallo ragusano
Historically called caciocavallo ragusano it is one of the antichi cheeses of the island and the name is believed astride that drifts from the drying (“to cavaddu') of an axis and from the name of the zone of production (Ragusa). This cheese from the amiable and peculiar sapore has been object sin from XIV the century of a flourishing commerce beyond the borders of the Reign of Sicily. In the 1515 Carmelo Trasselli in “Ferdinand Cattolico and Carl V” already tell of one “exemption from the custom offices” also for caciocavallo ragusano and therefore already the object of remarkable commerce.
The cheese “Ragusano DOP” is the pride of the masserie, characteristic architectonic complexes of the iblea campaign constructed on stone limestone white woman. And, at the same time, small and room massaro cheese factory where the latte ones of the cows, that they graze in the fields around, come handicraft transformed in delight of the palate, second a prescription that is handed on from generations.
The “Ragusano” is born in an atmosphere of other times, between the instruments in wood from the antichi names and the gestures discs of a valve. The latte ones come as soon as munto it comes carried in the premises where the caseificazione happens. Rich Cremoso and of cream, the latte ones fresh emanates the sapori of the aromatic grass of the ibleo plateau here.
The liquid, initially, comes leaked with a sieve and poured in a great vat (wood trough) - often wrapped in branch - then casaro pours you the paste of kidskin or lamb rennet, that it has made and dosed same he. After an abundant hour the curd is ready: the latte ones have been coagulated under the action of the rennet. To this point, the casaro it churns the curd with a wood auction that finishes to disc shape dictates ruotula, breaking off it until ridurne grains to the dimension of one lenticchia. At the same time, it comes added water to eighty degrees, for one first baking; therefore, the curd comes deposited within the vascedde, baskets from which come let out the serum, the liquid that added to a latte 10% of gives origin the annealed one. Of continuation, it comes executed a second baking of the curd, to eighty degrees, that it finishes after a pair of hours, always using it sheet, residual of the annealed one. At last, the curd returns in the vascedde in order to complete the filtering of the serum and here it comes left to rest for twenty hours. E' a lasso of time necessary to make to mature the just degree of acidity and the sapore.
The times of maturation of the curd vary to second of the medium temperature in which the caseificazione happens and are always the casaro to establish it. It comes, therefore, the moment in which the dense paste it comes cut to slices and mail in the staccio, an other container in wood or branch on which it comes poured warm water that it serves to make to spin the paste, thanks to the manuvedda, always in wood.
However, the large cheese spheres come obtained using the hands. E', this, one of is made more delicate of the entire working. The casaro it must have the shrewdness to knit the extremity of the paste and to eliminate from its surface the eventual air bubbles or “smagliature” that can are created; still warm, the cheese sphere comes mail in the mastredda, where it will rest a day and one night entire, drying up themselves and assuming the typical shape to parallelepipedo. The shapes come dipped, then, in small water bathtubs and of it knows them for the first salatura. They can remain in this state of pickling brine from two or eight days, in virtue of the weight. At last, capacities to the stagionatura come, in premises often gain to you from natural coves that acquit this task from centuries.
In the stagionatura centers the second salatura happens, for approximately thirty days. When the stagionatore currency that the cheese has arrived at the just moment of the maturation, hangs to braces with liame horse of beams of wood, controlled every two weeks.
The “Ragusano” comes left to mature for a period that goes from four months to a year, based on the wished type. Like every work of art, all the shapes are only, never no equal one to the others.
|
