Cheese: Bra DOP e
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Introduction
Here we continue our introduction of Italy's 155 Protected Designations of Origin (PDO, or, in Italian, DOP, Denominazione di Origine Protetta) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI, or IGP in Italian, Indicazione Geografica Protetta) products.
This month we present two cheeses: the Bra DOP from Piedmont and Caciocavallo Ragusano DOP from Sicily.
Bra DOP (Piedmont)
Protected Designations of Origin assigned on June 12, 1996
Characteristics of the Product
The name derives from the small town with the same name in the province of Cuneo. In the past, merchants from Bra used to purchased the cheeses known as nostrale from the peasants of the valleys surrounding Cuneo, then age it in their cellars before re-selling it to consumers. Currently most of the production of the Bra cheese takes place in small and medium sized cheese factories located in the Cuneo Valley and the small towns of the lower plain.
Cattle must be fed exclusively with either fresh of dried grass, and any kind of fodder or bin-preserved food is forbidden.
There are two types of Bra DOP cheese on the market, the tenero (soft) and the duro (hard). The second variety is recognizable by the darker rind and the ochre-straw color of the slice, while the soft type slice is ivory white in color. The production zone is the same for both varieties, however different working processes and ageing are applied to each of them.
To produce the Bra tenero the milk is heated to 35° C (95° F) adding curd to it. The curdle is broken into two phases: first with a rotatory motion, and then by pressing it for about 15 minutes. The cheese is salted with brine containing 12% salt and ageing lasts around one and a half months.
On the other hand, the Bra duro cheese is heated to 29-30° C (84.2-86° F) in copper hot-water heaters with liquid curd added. The curdle is broken the same way as for the soft variety, but in this case the salting process is dry and is done during a period of six days every 24 hours. Ageing for the duro type lasts six months.
The wheels are round, with a diameter of 30-40 cm (11.81 to 15.75 inches), 7-9 cm (2.76 to 3.54 inches) height, and weigh around 8 kg (17.5 pound). The flavor of the Bra duro is decidedly fuller and more intense when compared to the tenero type. Both varieties are served as table cheese, though in the past the duro used to be used as grated cheese as well. The Bra DOP cheese is also used quite often as a melting cheese.
The wines suggested for pairing with the Bra duro are Barbera d'Alba, Dolcetto d'Alba, Nebbiolo d'Alba and Salice Salentino.
The more delicate, milder flavor of the Bra tenero is better matched with young Barbera d'Alba, Dolcetto delle Langhe Monregalesi and Cerasuolo di Vittoria.
- Production Zone:
Province of Cuneo and municipality of Villafranca Piedmont, in the province of Turin. - Producers' Organization:
Consorzio per la tutela del Formaggio Bra
Via Emanuele Filiberto, 3
12100 Cuneo
Caciocavallo Ragusano DOP (Sicily)
Protected Designations of Origin assigned on July 1, 1996.
Characteristics of the Product
The Caciocavallo Ragusano DOP cheese, locally known also by the dialect names scaluni and pruvuluni, has a typical rectangular shape, it's 13-15 cm (5.12 to 5.91 inches) height, 40-45 cm (15.75 to 17.72 inches) long and usually weigh over 10 kilos (22.05 pounds). The cheese is produced with cow milk of the Modicana variety bred mostly in the open.
The milk is filtered in a big wood container, often wrapped in copper, with the addition of sheep or goat curd. The curdle is broken into grains of the approximate size of lentils using a pole ending with a disk.
At the same time water heated at 80°C (176° F) is added for the first cooking process, then the curdle is put in special baskets to drain the whey. Next the curdle undergo a second cooking process by immersion for around two hours in the water remained after the production of ricotta cheese, heated at 80°C (176° F).
Finally the curdles is laid back into baskets and left to rest for 20 hours, thus completing the whey drainage and acquiring the wanted degree of acidity and flavor. The cheese is then sliced and put in the staccio, that is, a wooden or copper container filled with hot water, to obtain the filatura della pasta (mozzarella-like consistency). Next the blocks of cheese are put in smaller containers filled with salted water and left in brine for a period of two to eight days, depending from the size and weight of the pieces.
The final step is ageing, which often is made in natural caves. Her, the cheese is salted for the second time during a period of around a month, then the blocks of cheese are hanged in couples across wooden beams and checked periodically. The Caciocavallo Ragusano DOP ages for four months to one year.
- Production Zone:
Provinces of Ragusa and Siracusa - Web Site
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