Tnuva Sheep’s-Milk Feta (Israel) Dila-o Rkatsiteli-Mtsvane 2019 (Georgia) According to the historical record, cheese and wine were born at the ... Read More
Before the Romans occupied the Swiss Plateau, a Celtic group known as the Helvetii settled in the lowlands between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps (see Figure 1). Here the Helvetii established agricultural communities that employed transhumant pastoralism—the seasonal movement of livestock—and mountain cheese making to take advantage of the grazing opportunities in the surrounding highlands. During the Roman period (625 B–476 AD), the Celtic peoples became famous for their cow’s milk cheeses. Most of their mountain cheeses were imported to Rome via the former Greek colony of Massalia (present-day Marseilles, France).[1]
Fig. 1: Overview Map of the Territories of the Major Celtic Groups[2]
Both archaeological and historical evidence suggests that Celtic cheesemakers were using high-temperature cooking techniques and high-pressure pressing methods to make large cheeses. Accomplished metalworkers, the Celts were using bronze and iron cauldrons long before the Roman period. During the first century AD, the Roman geographer Strabo wrote about the widespread cheese production all along the northern slopes of the Alps. According to Strabo, these mountain cheeses were brought down to Celtic settlements in the valleys and plains. These must certainly have been rugged, long-lived cheeses. Evidently, those exported to Rome were also quite exceptional. In fact, both Pliny and Galen considered Vatusican—a cheese from the Savoie region of modern France—the best and most popular cheese in Rome.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Germanic peoples moved onto the Swiss Plateau and settled among the Romanized Celts. By 800 AD the influx of new settlers produced populations pressures in the lowlands and increased competition for summer grazing in the highlands. As cheese making increased and the trade in mountain cheeses expanded, the counts of Gruyère took note. Granted feudal authority over the highlands of the region by the Holy Roman Emperor in the eleventh century AD, the counts took control of the traditional summer transhumance routes and the highland grazing lands. Over the course of the next two centuries continued population growth and new settlements in the lowlands generated further pressure on highland grazing. This led to the creation of new, more remote grazing areas and the increased production of cheese. By 1300 Gruyère’s reputation for exceptional cheeses expanded far and wide. In order to meet demand and facilitate their overland transport to market, Gruyère cheesemakers made their cheeses even larger. They were specifically sized to be packed ten to a barrel—each cheese weighing from 40 to 60 pounds—and transported by boat from Lake Geneva to the Rhône River and on to the Mediterranean and the markets beyond.
Gruyère’s lucrative cheese trade drew the attention of the aristocratic lords of Savoie, Bern, Bavaria, and Tyrol. Starting in the thirteenth century, the counts and dukes of Savoie Bavaria, Tyrol encouraged the development of alpine cheeses. In the French Alps, alpine cheeses such as Beaufort, Tomme, Reblochon, and Raclette flourished. Along the western slopes of the Jura Mountains Comté (or Gruyère de Comté) prospered. During the 1400s, the barons of Bern gradually gained control of the Gruyère highlands from the counts of Gruyère. They also recruited highland cheesemakers from Gruyère to settle in the Emmental in order to improve their cheeses and increase the profitability of the dairy farms located in the Emme River Valley. The transplanted Gruyère cheesemakers played a pivotal role in developing large, firm cheeses such as Emmentaler, which is now commonly called “Swiss Cheese” outside of Switzerland. And so, by 1500, an entire family of moderate- to large-sized, wheel-shaped, firm-bodied, rugged, and long-lived cheeses were being produced throughout the Alps.[3]
With asparagus season in full swing here in Michigan, this recipe (see link below) from Everyday Food (New York: Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2007) is just the ticket for a Sunday brunch or convivial gathering family or friends. I recommend pairing this delectable Asparagus Gruyère Tart with a bottle of 2019 Angelo Negro Vino Bianco. Angelo Negro is
a historic producer in the Roero area of Piemonte (Piedmont), which means “at the foot of the mountains” in Italian. One of the first to gain organic certification in northwestern Italy, the Negro estatecontinues to specialize in single-vineyard Arneis. Although this unfiltered Vino Bianco looks rustic and cloudy, it is surprisingly fresh and versatile with hints of grapefruit, apple, and bitter almond.[4] Just chill, shake, and serve. One bite of this tart and a sip of Angelo Negro’s Vino Bianco will surely have you singing about the lively Alpine hills along with Maria.
Photo Credit: Emma Ruth Staggs
[1] Paul S. Kindstedt, Cheese and Culture: A History of Cheese and Its Place in Western Civilization (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2012), 20, 149.
[2] John Haywood, Atlas of the Celtic World (London: Thames & Hudson, 2001), 30–37.
[3] Kindstedt, Cheese and Culture, 104–106, 149–150.
[4] “2019 Angelo Negro ‘Vino Bianco,’” Rock Juice, accessed June 6, 2021, https://rockjuiceinc.com/products/ 2019-vino-bianco-arneis-angelo-negro-piemonte.
A byproduct of the increased production of rennet-coagulated pecorino type cheeses in Sicily and the Italian peninsula during the first millennium BC was a large amount of sweet whey. What were Sicilian and Apennine shepherds supposed to do with all this leftover whey? Being frugal shepherds, they certainly could not let it go to waste. Based on the number of ceramic “milk boilers” uncovered by archaeologists throughout the Italian peninsula, it appears they adhered to that classic adage: when Fate gives you whey, make ricotta.
Shepherds would pour leftover whey into these ingenious ceramic containers that limited frothing while they brought it to boil over a fire. In fact, this is where this cheese gets its name. In Italian ricotta means “re-cooked.” Once heated, the keratin proteins started to float and clump together into a mush that was then skimmed off the top and poured into little baskets, which drained the cheese of excess water and solidified it further. A few minutes later the shepherd’s family could sit down and enjoy some ricotta right out of the basket.
Photo Credit: Carlo Columba
To this day ricotta is considered one of the primary “peasant” foods in Italy.[1] Since sheep are the primary livestock in Sicily, Sicilian ricotta is typically made out of the leftover whey from Pecorino Siciliano DOP.[2] Many Italians consider this the truest form of ricotta as sheep’s milk is the richest and creamiest of the three main varieties. In Campania—an administrative region in the southwestern part of the Italian peninsula—the Mediterranean buffalo is raised and selectively bred to produce the milk used to make Mozzarella di Bufala DOP. A byproduct of Mozzarella di Bufala, the flavor of Campanian ricotta is butterier and sweeter than its Sicilian cousin. Meanwhile, in the Po Valley and Alpine regions of the north, ricotta is made from the cow’s whey leftover from the production of Gorgonzola DOP, Provolone DOP, or Taleggio DOP.[3]
In the rolling hills of Sonoma County, California, Bellwether Farms is supplementing their variety of sheep’s milk cheeses by purchasing local Jersey cow’s milk to make ricotta. After naturally acidifying for hours in a vat, the cultured cow’s milk is then heated and stirred. Then, at just the right moment, the Bellwether cheesemakers stop stirring to allow the curds to form. The curds are then hand scooped into small, plastic ricotta baskets and allowed to drain naturally under their own weight. In keeping with Italian traditions, Bellwether ricotta is sold in the same basket, which minimizes the disturbance of the curd while maximizing moisture retention. The result is a ricotta with an exceptionally delicate, soft texture; flavors of butter and cream; and a clean finish that you and your family can enjoy right out of the basket.[4]
[1] Paul S. Kindstedt, Cheese and Culture: A History of Cheese and Its Place in Western Civilization (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2012), 83; Nick D’Errico, “Italian Cheese: Ridiculous Ricotta,” Culture: The Word on Cheese, August 7, 2014, https://culturecheesemag.com/stories/blog/italian-cheese-ridiculous-ricotta/.
[1] DOP is short for Denominazione di origine Protetta (Protected designation of origin), a certification that ensures that a particular food product was made by local farmers and artisans using traditional methods.
[1] D’Errico, “Ridiculous Ricotta.” [1] “Basket Ricotta,” Culture: The Word on Cheese, accessed May 31, 2021, https://culturecheesemag.com/ cheese-library/Ricotta-Bellwether-Farms.
When Odysseus and his crew stumbled onto the island of Sicily, they came across the cave of Polyphemus, a one-eyed giant shepherd who happened to be the son of the god Poseidon. Astonished, they walked into a cave filled with racks loaded with drying cheeses; buckets, pails, and milking bowls brimming full of whey; and pens crowded with lambs and kids. After lighting a fire and offering a sacrifice, the Greek warriors helped themselves to the shepherd’s cheese. When Polyphemus returned with his flocks, he sat down, milked his sheep and goats, curdled half of the fresh white milk, and then set aside the whey in wicker racks to press for cheese.[1]
This passage from The Odyssey—the epic Greek poem recorded around 700 BC—illustrates the role of cheese in the Archaic Mediterranean World (776–480 BC). It reveals that the technology required to make hard, rinded cheeses suitable for aging and grating was now available. Cheese was, in fact, an important part of Greek culture. It not only was an integral part of the daily Greek diet, but also played an important role in their religion. Cheese was a bloodless offering presented to Cybele, the Great Mother of the Gods, on the island of Crete. Cheese-filled cakes were also offered to Asklepios, the god of healing. Symposiums—ritualized drinking parties—involved a dessert course that included wine and cheese.
The passage also underscores the fact that the increasingly prosperous and numerous Greeks responded to the increasing strain on their limited agricultural resources and the growing competition from Canaanite Phoenicians—who established trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean, including Carthage in North Africa—by establishing their own a network of colonies in the Mediterranean, including Sicily, which would become famous for its grating cheeses.
Map of Greek (in red) and Phoenician (in yellow) Colonies, 800–600 B.C.
The many archaic bronze cheese graters uncovered in the graves of warrior princes along the western Italian coast suggests that the Greek warrior ritual of grating cheese into wine reached Tuscany—the ancient homeland of the Etruscī (Etruscans)—by 601 BC. With the general advent of bronze cheese graters among the Etruscan elite, it appears that cheese-making practices were shifting away from acid/heat-coagulated cheeses such as ricotta toward rennet-coagulated aged pecorinos suitable for grating.[2]
Over 2,600 years later, you can now pick up a Tuscan pecorino here at Aperitivo. Boasting a Denominazione di Origine Protetta (Protected Designation of Origin) or DOP, Pecorino Toscano is carefully supervised throughout its production to ensure it is made by local farmers and artisans using traditional methods. It also means the milk used to make Pecorino Toscano must come from sheep raised and fed on hay and fodder from Toscana, Lazio, and Umbria. After the milk is curdled and the rennet is added, salt is added to the cheese mold for half a day. The pecorino blocks are then aged for six months and finished with a yellow rind. After another check, the block is marked as DOP and ready for export. Polyphemus would be proud.
A rich Italian delicacy, Pecorino Toscano can be grated on most pasta dishes and risottos as well as fresh salads or soups. Its herbal, nutty flavors also work great on a cheese board paired with nuts, jams, honey, or figs. It also marries marvelously with the caramelized elements in this “insanely delicious” recipe from Bon Appétit: Rigatoni with Fennel and Anchovies (https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/rigatoni-with-fennel-and-anchovies).
Paired with a bottle of “Laetitia Bullarum,” a natural sparkling white wine from the Fongoli vineyards in Umbria, even those most skeptical of eating a dish featuring anchovies, mint, or orange zest will come back for more.
Rigatoni with Fennel and Anchovies Photo Credit: Kate Staggs
[1] Homer, The Odyssey, trans. Ian Johnston (Arlington, VA: Richer Resources Publications, 2006), 172.
[2] Paul S. Kindstedt, Cheese and Culture: A History of Cheese and Its Place in Western Civilization (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2012), 64, 66, 68, 70, 72–73, 76, 79, 88–89.
According to the historical record, cheese and wine were born at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe around 6500 B.C. By 1200 B.C., the Canaanites were shipping brined white cheeses of the same family as feta in clay-sealed jars from Ashdod on the coast of modern Israel to Ugarit on the Syrian coast. Although our brined Israeli sheep’s-milk feta arrives by air in plastic-sealed tubs, the taste is nothing short of divine: a wonderful mix of earthy, sweet, and salt. It is perfect this winter over this Navy Bean and Escarole Stew with our Castelvetrano olives and paired with Dila-o—a fresh unfiltered “amber” wine hand-made in large clay jars buried under the ground by a father and son in Georgia, the country, the birthplace of wine.
