Description

“Pecorino Bagnolese Refined With Hay from the Irpino Pasture”

The “Pecorino Bagnolese Affinato Al Fieno del Pascolo Irpino” is a typical Irpinia cheese, traditionally made by hand from raw milk obtained from sheep of the “Pecora Bagnolese (Malvizza)” breed raised in the wild, which are taken to the pastures every day by shepherds and milked by hand. The cheese is aged in caves, at constant temperature and humidity.

This excellent cheese has a rich and tangy taste. The minimum ageing period is 300 days. The maturing process takes place at constant temperature and humidity in Irpinia caves. During this time, the cheese is aged in hay from the pastures of the Irpinia mountain landscape, and is also covered with this hay.

Origin: Campania, Bagnoli Irpino, Irpinia mountain range

Milk: sheep’s milk, in the form of raw milk, of which at least 70% is raw sheep’s milk, from the “Pecora Bgnolese” breed

Breed: Pecora Bagnolese “Malvizza”

Milking: hand milking

Ingredients: veal rennet and salt

Nutritional information:

Energy value: 580 Kcal / 2424 KJ

Fat content: 30 g

Of which saturated fatty acids: 22 g

Carbohydrates: 1.8 g

Of which sugar: 0 g

Proteins: 22 g

Salt: 1 g

Aging: 300 days

Refinement: with hay from the pastures of the Irpinia mountain landscape

Weight: approx. 2.3 kg

Best before: 365 days

Storage: preferably at a temperature of 4° – 10° Celsius

Price per kg: 56.70 €

Production stages:
Milking: the milk selected for the production of “Pecorino Bagnolese” comes from wild herds on natural pastures. Milking is done manually and the milk must be processed within 24 hours of the first milking. Fresh sheep’s milk is then transferred to the processing centers in cooling tanks or steel tanks.
Heating: once it arrives at the dairy, the raw milk, after appropriate filtering, is gradually heated in the vats until it reaches a temperature of 36-38° C. When the milk reaches these temperatures, the lamb rennet is added and after 25 – 35 minutes the milk turns into curd.
Curd: once the curd has formed, it is crushed with a wooden ladle until lumps the size of rice grains are formed. The curd is left to rest for a few minutes, after which the mass is extracted and then placed in the molds, special mesh containers with a characteristic shape. The next phase is the pressing, which is carried out entirely by hand and which allows the whey to come out.
Aging: the pasta obtained is divided into blocks and placed in special natural resin molds for food, then stored for the maturation treatment in special humid rooms at a constant temperature to facilitate the acidification of the pasta. The molds are taken to “salting”, then each mold is sprinkled with coarse salt on the side for 24 hours, after the two days of salting the first cheese, the “Primo Sale”, is obtained, leaving the mold to drain the excess whey and leave it to dry for a few days to then mature on wooden boards, allowing at least 3 months for a good result. During maturation the pecorino is turned over and cleaned from time to time.
Ricotta: to make ricotta, the whey from the previous processing is recovered and heated in the kettles until it reaches a temperature of 60° C. Then raw milk is added and the temperature is raised to 83° C. The mass is then removed and placed in molds. The ricotta is ready.