Centuries of experience and new technology for the Doc cheeses
From centuries the sheep-farming is one of the most important economic activities of Sardinia. It has been practiced from the prehistory and with the passage of centuries it spread from the inner areas till in the shelter of the island coasts.
The progress and the advent of technology, during the last decades, has brought a change in this sector, also thanks to the foundation of the Istituto Zootecnico e Caseario della Sardegna (Zootechnic and Dairy Institute of Sardinia) in the middle twentieth. This governmental body was in charge of an experimental and research activity in the zootechnics and in the milk sectors. Its head office is between Sassari and Alghero, in the locality of Bonassai (which gives the name to a cheese produced by the Institute), and some other experimental companies are in Monastir (province of Cagliari), Burgos (Sassari) and Macomer (Nuoro).
In Sardinia several different qualities of cheese are producted, either industrial production or handmade production, with sheep, goat, cow and even buffalo milk: from the Pecorino (Sardo and Romano- ewe's milk cheese from Sardinia and from Rome) to the Fiore, from the Dolce Sardo to the Provola, from the ricotta to the mozzarella, passing through the Casu Axedu (typical product of shepherds, particularly of those from the Ogliastra: it is a sour curd which, in case of pickle salting, takes the name of “Merca”) the Gioddu (taste it natural or sweeten it with the Sardinian honey) and through many other specialties like the Casizolu, the Fresa and the Bonassai which often affect a single region of Sardinia or even a more limited area.
There are different variations of some cheeses. This is the case of the ricotta, of which we know three different kinds: the Ricotta “gentile” (mild), the salted one and the ricotta “mustìa”. The first two kinds of ricotta are made only of whey of sheep. The traditional ricotta can be eaten after only a few hours from its preparation. It has a white and creamy spread with a delicate and mild taste. The salty ricotta needs a seasoning of about one month, or of 45 days if it is to grate. The presence of salt gives it a longer-life. The spread is white, mild but thick and not creamy. Eventually the ricotta “Mustìa”, which is made of whey of cow and is salted on the surface.
A very different case is that of the “Casu Marzu” (literally rotten cheese) a typical handmade product, obtained by natural fermentation of ovine milk: during the ageing of this Pecorino (from three to six months) the gnat of the species “Piophila Casei” deposits its eggs on the rind in the properly made holes, in which the little grubs that characterize the “Casu Marzu” grow. The cheese is dunked in olive oil and let seasoning for two months: this way is obtained a mild and buttery spread. It is a product wanted by many gastronomes, but for its own nature, it is taken off the shelves: it is possible to find it only in the shepherds' cellars and by little undertakers of the inner areas.
