The song says “Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go”…well, in the hills above Lucca in the Garfagnana it would say…”Over the river and UP through the woods, and up and up and up…to Gemma’s house we go”.
Gemma and her husband have been running “Cerasa” farm for years. The popular hilltop location is the home to dozens of sheep that at one time were almost extinct. The Bianca Garfagnana sheep (the white sheep) now has a population of up towards 50,000 thanks to the efforts of the commune and Gemma’s years of hard work. The dogs help her bring them around the mountain to graze…we enjoyed watching her yell “andiamo” (let’s go) to the dogs as they ran around getting the sheep to the proper place.
When we arrived at the farm she had already been up early milking the sheep. The milk had been on the fire for an hour with the renant added waiting for us to come watch the grand making of CHEESE! I will not even try to explain the process of the cheese making but I will tell you it must takes years of experience to know just when the time is right to stir, cut, lump, drain, mold, dry, salt, wash and age this fresh cheese. Of course my dear friend and tour guide Heather from Sapori-e-Saperi took us to this delightful cheese adventure where we sampled the cheese throughout it’s many stages.
The amazing thing we have learned a few times at different cheese makers is the “left over” makes ricotta! So ricotta is not cheese at all…it’s…well, leftover -and boy is it good served with Gemma’s fresh jam!
We were also allowed to see the low ceiling, cool, spooky cellar where the cheese sits on wood boards and gets washed and turned daily as it ages. Hanging around the edges were the family’s special salumi, aged to perfection with about 6 inches of mold covering the good stuff inside! I of course batted my eyelashes and begged them to sell me a hunk, which we took home and ate alllll week with pleasure (after hubby sliced off all the icky stuff).
The farm is a landmark. They have lovely accommodations for the sheep, many barns, sheds, amazing views, olive and fruit trees. They also have 500 year old chestnut trees that are named and handled with great care. You can even adopt a tree , then come enjoy the harvest at chestnut time in the fall.
We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with several new friends we met that day also on the tour. We walked the farm, gathering herbs and ingredients for a cooking class later that day. It was another fab day with Heather doing what my kid loves the most-eating cheese!
Added the renant and turn up the heat….
The “paddle” spoon is standing up in the milk, getting close to cheese now!
Cutting the curds…
Look at that HUGE hunk of cheese!!!
Pressing it into the molds…as the “whey” drains out…
Now we try the ricotta made from the whey…
The cheese ages in the cellar-isn’t this a great picture?!
Gemma turns the cheeses every day.
Yes…I bought one of these treasures hanging to “age”.
The sheep had been sheared and were grazing peacefully in the shade of an old chestnut tree.
The dogs worked as hard as the humans!
She had a surprise for us…
Pups!! They looked like little bear cubs!! and they really wanted to get out and help herd those sheep.
This dog served as the doorbell-telling Gemma we had arrived.
The dining room is perfect for a large group-the story of the Bianca Garfagnana sheep laced the walls, as did samples of the sheep’s wool made into lovely rugs, scarves, socks, made by Gemma’s daughter.
The wool is dyed using natural ingredients around the farm.
The chestnut trees were immense…
This one dates back to the 1600’s!
A special farm, with a special cause, making special products by a very special lady!
Look it up next time you go to Tuscany…or better yet…
Look up Heather at www.sapori-e-saperi.com .
