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Cheese Presidia Bra 2007

Cheese Presidia from all over the world meet for a practical and theoretical educational exchange

Theme: the dairy and cheese production chain

Pollenzo – Bra  September 18-20 2007

by Alessandra Trompeo

In mid-September, 2007, the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity organized an information exchange among raw milk cheese producers from around the world. The exchange members were mainly from Italy, but there were also producers from Eastern Europe, Holland, Israel, Ireland, Lebanon, Sweden, Switzerland, Tibet and the US.

University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo where the meeting took place

The focus of the meeting was specifically on Presidia products and the particular conditions of production: very basic facilities, production limited sometimes to the summer months when mountain pasture is accessible and the producers’ lack of scientific background,  though also the excellent quality of the raw material.

One point that was stressed was the importance of preserving the indigenous breeds that are more sturdy, resistant to external agents and able to take advantage of the local pastures. Roberto Rubino, Founder and President of ANFOSC, said that he doesn’t like to talk about weeds since the cows have learned over time what and how much to eat of each native species, much as we too have learned to use just a little bit of parsley or basil in our diet.

He also said he doesn’t like to evaluate the quantity of grass/hectare, but rather the amount of aroma/area involved. A natural pasture is always made of different species of grass at different stages of growth and the complexity of taste in the cheese can vary from one day to another. Besides, the “good” components for human health (CLA) are definitely more abundant in milk coming from cows that have access to pasture.

Podolica cow (an indigenous breed in southern Italy) during a harsh winter. The rustic nature of this breed allows the cows to live in the wild.

Several speakers pointed out how important it is to have common standards of production and how hygiene can be pursued within a very simple structure. Guido Tallone, a dairy technician who works for Piedmont Region helping several small dairy farms to improve their manufacturing skills, told us that the key to approach the customers is to have a product that is safe and with a consistent quality.

Gianfranco Corgiat, Director of Agriculture Department - Piedmont Region, mentioned “Itinerant Teaching posts” through which the experts meet the producers at the farm and teach or advise them on production methods.

Since the concept of hygiene can sometimes be a matter of personal opinion, the role of faculty is to make the producers aware of what they are doing, showing them behaviors that can be dangerous to the safety of the product. Giudo Tallone, who has seen a variety of situations, mentioned that during one of his visits to a small dairy facility he saw the cheese maker combing her hair over the cheese vat.

Presidia cheeses are made sometimes in very primitive facilities that are used only few months per year and difficult to get to. It was agreed that hygiene can be pursued in the simplest structures as long as the producers have a basic knowledge of what is going on when they are milking and making cheese.

A lot of time was also spent talking about animal welfare. Dr. Martina Tarantola, a researcher at the Veterinary Medicine Dept. of the University of Turin, listed the five “fundamental freedoms” for the animals. They must be free from hunger and thirst, free to move and find protection, free from pain and sickness, free from fear and stress and free to behave normally. She also encouraged the breeding of indigenous breeds for their sturdiness and rustic feeding habits. The nature of these animals, in fact, doesn’t require the use of many medications for their well being and they adapt easily to the food available.

It was emphasized that consumers who understand about animal welfare and product quality will be likely to spend more money as a result. Consumers are now more educated and understand the difference between a commercial product and artisanal small production where cheese quality and welfare of the animals involved are the main goals.

At the end of the meeting’s first day, Piero Sardo, President of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, and Eric Vassallo, Master of Food specializing in cheese, led a tasting session. After a general introduction on how to sample and describe a cheese, we were offered six different wedges of cheese: raw milk Pecorino and pasteurized milk Pecorino, Robiola di Roccaverano, Beaufort, Bitto and Bleu d’Auvergne. We were taught to use the five senses to describe each cheese and introduced to some jargon used in the cheese-tasting world.

Besides the numerous lectures, all participants had a chance to take a field trip in the area surrounding Bra, to visit three different cheese facilities. According to their interest, they were divided into three groups: some went to visit the Langan Sheep Tuma Presidium, others the Mountain Castelmagno Presidium and a third group had a chance to enter into the impressive Occelli Aging Plant in Valcasotto and visit the Mondovi’ Cornmeal biscuit Presidium.

The discussion became very animated when the group decided to deal with the use of commercial starters to make raw milk cheeses. Piero Sardo strongly discouraged the use of industrial cultures and said, “We ask the shepherd to live a hell of a life in the mountains, and then we want to use selected starters to make uniform the tastes of different productions.”

The Occelli Aging Plant in Valcasotto.

Small-scale producers complained that it is time consuming to prepare their own culture for each batch and sometimes there is no time left after a long day of work. Dr. Luigi Grazia, Professor in the Food Science Department at the University of Bologna and member of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, told of his experience in the production of Parmigiano and the use of whey as a starter. He agreed on the possibility of preparing a starter culture and then freezing it and using it for later batches. But the question is still open and for now it is not a requirement for Presidia producers to make their own starters.

 

On the last day of work, Hansi Baumgartner, cheese selector and affineur from Trentino Alto Adige, and Randolph Hodgson, English cheese selector and affineur, shared some of their creations with participants, offering a sneak preview on the specialty cheeses displayed at Cheese.

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E-mail: info[at]rawmilkcheese[dot]org

Click here to download the Cheese Presidia article.  (The PDF document is compatible with Adobe Acrobat Reader.)