Alchemy of the Shepherds = Italy's Finest Pecorino
Alchemy. noun. “any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value.”
‘‘This creamy, salty oh-so-tasty hunk of cheese comes from those muddy, down to the ground dread-lock sporting sheep over there??’
I guess you can’t judge a book from its cover, nor a cheese from its source.
No fluffy cotton balls of pastoral beauty are these at first glance. Their beauty comes from within. A pasture grazed milk of utter (yes, pun intended) purity and richness.
The word alchemy isn’t entirely accurate. This “common substance” is never of little value. Just ask the lambs. But the cheese making process is magical and anyone who has had the experience of tasting a warm slice of the soft pecorino fresh out of the cauldron would agree that it is “a substance of great value”.
It starts with a walk.
A dirt path lined with wildflowers and bright red poppies leads from the village down into a small valley. Green in the spring and sepia toned in the fall. (In summertime it is too hot for milk from the sheep.)
A small hut, old and rustic, sits on the valley floor. Three brothers, shepherds all, have relocated from Sardina to Tuscia for the rolling pastures and perfect grasses. They wait for us with their three sheep dogs. In contrast to their charges, the dogs are pure white, silky smooth and really cute! But make no mistake, these are working dogs and don’t have much time for cuddling. They keep the herd in a group as they graze and protect them at night from any wandering wolf.
The sheep have been milked that morning and their bounty fills a large steel cauldron heated by a wood fire underneath. The oldest brother, Angelo, stirs the milk with a long wooden paddle, all the while checking the immersed thermometer until the milk reaches the desired temperature and consistency. This is key and crucial. You don’t want it to boil, nor do you want it to be cooler than the optimal temperature for transformation. Not an easy task with a wood fire.
Peppino