Milk Collection

Milk Collection. Every morning before the sun peeps over the mountains, skilful hands are already hard at work milking the sheep. Their output goes straight into tanks refrigerated at 4°C to limit the growth of microbes and so ensure cheese of the highest quality.

The Transformation Process. The milk is then transported to the cheese factory where it is pasteurised before natural lactic acids and rennet are added. Within 20-30 minutes the milk starts to thicken, forming curd which is cut into pieces which are then placed in moulds and moved into a “warm room”. The milk remains here for half a day, during which time it is turned frequently so that the whey is drained. The ricotta that is obtained from this whey is then worked and heated to 82 degrees at which point it is placed into moulds, ready to be sold. Meanwhile, the milk which has been sitting in the warm room and is to become pecorino, proceeds to the salting stage. The salt is rubbed into each round of cheese by hand before being carefully rinsed off.