Second Weekend Excursion: Formaggio

Forming Fresh Formaggio

La Porta dei Parchi Cheese Farm

Last Saturday, my school hosted yet another wonderful excursion. This time to La Porta dei Parchi Cheese Farm. The farm is located in Italy's L'Aquila province, in the region of Abruzzo. In Italy, this region is known for possessing some of the strongest flavored meats and cheeses in the entire country!

This excursion encompassed a private tour by the co-owner, Nunzio Marcelli. Marcelli is well-known for making some of the best Formaggi in not only all of Italy, but in the entire world. The Marcelli Formaggi brand is recognized as some of the finest organic artisanal farmstead cheese. All of their cheese is made by hand (as shown in my photos below), and comes from sheep and goats milk. During the tour, Marcelli emphasized his belief in producing solely organic products, not only for the sake of all of us who are consuming his product, but also for the sake of the livestock on his farm. 

The Marcelli Formaggi brand has been noted for winning countless Italian Slow Food awards, and written up by noteworthy publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post,  and other publications in San Francisco and New York. This "biogriturismo," farm is noted by the Italian government as an "Organic Village," and all of their products are EU certified organic. 

Fresh Ficci Eaten Right of the Farm's Trees

Mac, Kate, and I, got a little carried away with the figs on this farm. As I noted in my description above, this farm is not only known for making cheese. In correspondance to being a local and organic business, Nunzio explained how they grow an immense amount of produce themselves; ficci (figs) being one of them! Fig trees were lined up all along the main seating area of this farm, and they were simply delicious. 

To be honest, I've only ever eaten fig in a prosciutto-fig sandwich back in the States. However, after last Saturday I have consumed more figs than one can imagine, and am currently on the hunt for a Pizza Biancha con Prosciutto e Ficci!

Facciamo Uno Spuntino

"We Snack"

Marcelli Formaggi's Goat Cheese, Salami, and Pizza Rossa

Nunzio kept us well-feed throughout our entire experience at his farm. Immediately, upon meeting us at  our bus, he lead us outside the restaurant where we were to enjoy a simple "spuntino," which simply means snack, or light meal. All of the products came from the farm. The minute I tasted the goat cheese, I knew myself, and my stomach were in the right place.

Sheep!

These sheep are separated from the main heard, because they are either too young, or too old to be left to graze on their own. The farm is surrounded by the Gran Sasso mountain range, which is the highest in all of Italy, hence home to other wild animals such as bears and ferocious felines. Therefore, these sheep must be looked after inside.

Inside the Production Room

The Cheese is heated close to 100 degrees F;

then stirred with the serrated tool to separate the fatty enzyme chains;

 that are produced after the milk is heated.

The Cheese Maker is collecting all of the cheese into a solid mass;

making it easier to take out;

this took a few minutes because the goat's milk is extremely hot.

Fresh Formaggio on the forming table;

the liquid rain off the side of the table into a bucket, as to not waste any milk.

Formaggio (Cheese) gets its name from this process;

simply "forma," means "to form."

We watched him form the cheese in these containers, which will be left overnight/for days depending on what cheese they're making.

Ricotta!

Nothing goes to waste.

The remaining goats milk gets recooked, 

which is the meaning of the word "ricotta,' and alas a new cheese is formed!

We had to wait about twenty minutes after they put the goat's milk in, to watch the cheese making/forming process. We all proceeded to cram into the tiny tiled room, where the cheese maker was proudly awaiting. I didn't catch his name, but he was a great sport while we all snapped countless photos during Nunzio's exclamation. 

Essentially how basic formaggio is made (excuse my lack of proper terminology), is the milk, either sheep or goat, is placed into this steel heater. It heats the milk, and rotates it. This milk is heated up to, or a little over, 100 degrees F. The high temperature causes a chemical reaction to occur amongst the enzymes and natural fats in the milk. The result, is the milk becomes a solid form, and forms the wonderful mass we know as cheese! 

The "cheese maker," for lack of a better title, was fascinating to watch. He obviously knew what he was doing, and was very meticulous with how he handled the cheese. We cut us up a bunch of slices and allowed us to taste it! It was pretty bland and chewy, since it has yet to be fermented or seasoned, but I still found it refreshing. 

Nunzio explained that in Italy, only four kinds of milk are used to make cheese: goat, sheep, cow and sometimes buffalo. He only works with goat and sheep milk. The Mercalli Formaggi brand produces about ten different varieties of cheese, but there are up to 460 different types of cheese out there, for our taste buds to enjoy. 

The Gran Sasso Mountain Range

After viewing the cheese making demonstration, we walked along the farm's grounds. Surprisingly, the actual farm area is not very big. It's pretty lengthy, but most of the grounds are all along the mountains, for sheep herding. The views were breathtaking, and the mountains really are expansive.

Antipasto Pecorino Cheese, Meat and Jam Plate; Mercalli Formaggi Cheese; 

Primo: Gnocchi e Pasta con Formaggio; Secondo: Meat Dish

Moreso Italians, than foreigners, will make the trip over to La Porta dei Parchi to dine at it's restaurant. The restaurant seats about fifty people. It had a very homey and rustic feel to it, and I could definitely feel the family-style vibe. 

Prior to lunch, we assumed we would be trying a few more cheeses, and probably having something simple like a pasta dish, and be on our way. None of us were expecting the four course long meal that was provided.

My favorite dish, of course, was the first: the cheese platter. We were instructed to start right, and continue left while trying the different kinds of cheese. Italian cheese makers, obviously, know how to work your palette. We started with a mild formaggio, on the right, and as we moved across the plate, more and more flavor eluded on your tongue. I particularly liked the formaggio with spinach, the peperoncini covered cheese (nice and spicy), and I even liked the cheeses on the left, in particular the blue cheese! The only cheese I did not care for, was the second to last one. Kate, Mac and I concluded it truly tasted of "farm." Needless to say, I ate it anyway. The purple jam in the middle was made out of cherries and applies. We were instructed to pair it with the softer, younger cheeses. All of the salami is from the farm itself. All in all, this was a spectacular platter. To be honest though, I think I'm a true cheese lover, since a lot of my classmates barely touched their plates, or couldn't even eat it all. Many people complained about the cheese giving them a stomachache. My stomach was completely fine after this tasting.

The following two platters were quite hefty, but still good. The pasta was delicious, but at this point, I think I was on cheese overload, since I could barely finish half of the dish, but the quality was definitely there. The third dish, was comprised of various meat. I'm still not exactly sure what I ate, but I was so full at this point that I made a point to try everything before setting it aside. We were also provided a dessert, which was a ricotta-based pudding. It was quite tangy, but I was so full that I didn't really enjoy it (hence no photograph).

Moreover, this was the closest I've come to eating the full Italian meal, which is comprised of an(sometimes) apertivo, antipasti, primi, secondi, insalata, formaggi e frutta, dolce, and caffe or digestivo. These type of meals are meant to carry over at least three hours if not longer, and are great for digestion. On this particular day my stomach was just filled with cheese, but I wasn't complaining.

Walk into Town 

After our filling lunch, Nunzio walked us down into the nearby town. He told stories of the various buildings as we walked by, and pointed out a few churches. The town is so small, and everyone was shouting out their windows as Nunzio walked by. 

Overall, I deemed my experience at La Porta dei Parchi Cheese Farm as one of my favorites. I know a few others didn't find it to be anything special, but I really connected with the philosophy behind the food, and motto the company runs by. I am grateful my school was able to organize such a great excursion. The farm was really out in the mountains, and took a couple hours to drive too; a place I would never have known about or even have been able to get to as a tourist. 

There is a lot of great articles and information about La Porta dei Parchi:

If you want to know about Life in Abruzzo, or learn about Nunzio's adopt a sheep initiative, or just go to their main page and scroll through the tabs to learn more about this great company!

On a side note, I've officially finished my three-week intensive Italian course. Today my Mom is arriving in Italy, and we'll be spending my one week break together. We're about to take Roma by storm, and then head off to Venezia (Venice) for four days come later this week. Expect posts of the mother-daughter adventures soon!