Latest news with #PecorinoSardo
Gulf Today
11 hours ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
Windswept island brings a taste of Croatia to the world
From Croatia's mainland, most of Pag looks inhospitably grey and rocky, but the island's lunar-like landscape is key to producing its delicious staple. Paski sir, the distinctive, hard Pag cheese, as it is known in Croatian, is the highly-prized product of herb-grazing sheep that cling to the rugged terrain in the face of fierce Adriatic winds. "It contains the very essence of this island," Martina Pernar Skunca, the marketing manager of the oldest cheese factory on Pag, told the media. Located 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Zadar, the island of Pag hosts around 40,000 woolly locals -- about five times its human population. Grazing freely, the fluffy flock feast on various herbs and aromatic plants, including sage, lavender and curry plant, all coated in sea salt whipped up by bora winds -- giving the cheese its world-famous flavour, Pernar Skunca from the Paska Sirana cheese factory said. This photo shows cheeses ripen on wooden shelves at the "Paska sirana" . AFP Aged for at least 60 days and often compared to Italian Pecorino Sardo or Spanish Manchego, it boasts a marble texture and savoury flavour that becomes spicier with maturity. 'In our blood' Founded in 1946, Paska Sirana -- which makes around 80 tons of its star product annually -- still purchases most of its milk from families living on the island. "Our ancestors have always done it; it's in our blood, and we cannot do without it," said Marin Valentic, who runs the small Skrivanat cheese factory using methods almost unchanged for generations. At Gligora Sirana, one of the island's most acclaimed factories, manager Ruzica Gligora agrees that family tradition is key to the cheese's success. An employee works on cheese production at the production facilities in Gligora Cheese factory. AFP "From the very beginning, when my father-in-law Ivan Gligora founded the factory, he had the idea of making the best cheese in the world," she said. Their founder's goal seems to have paid off, with Michelin-starred chefs from the International Taste Institute describing Gligora's Paski sir as a "pure delight" that "brings full and complex flavours to the palate and melts nicely in the mouth". In recognition of Paski sir's value, the European Union has afforded it a Protected Designation of Origin status, shielding it from copycats in the same way as champagne. 'Hard job' However, cheese makers say that milk production is decreasing annually as the industry competes for workers against Croatia's booming tourism sector. Around 20 million tourists a year flock to Croatia, drawn by its stunning coastline and picturesque cities, but its population of 3.8 million is struggling to keep up. Alongside tourism, farmers can be tempted to focus on a less labour intensive speciality of the island -- Pag lamb. "Pag is a beautiful touristic place, and gives a lot of opportunities to earn money in an easier way," Pernar Skunca said. "This is a hard job, since in the production season from January to June, no matter what is happening in one's life or weather conditions, sheep need to be milked twice a day." Foreign workers in Croatia, employees of the 'Paska sirana' cheese ractory, put cheese into molds by hand at the production facilities, in Pag. AFP The conditions can be brutal with winter gusts from the Velebit mountains hammering the island, sometimes reaching over 200 kilometres (124 miles) per hour. Producers say interest in the cheese is only growing, with all varieties -- some infused with cherry, others matured for 24 months -- in demand. "Everyone wants to try it, to learn why it is so special," said Valentic, who has a flock of around 120 sheep. The 40-year-old farmer welcomes the demand but stressed that Pag's unique landscape only offers so much grazing land. "We are simply limited by the capacity." Agence France Presse
Jordan News
05-02-2025
- General
- Jordan News
Casu Marzu: The World's Most Dangerous Cheese - Jordan News
Casu Marzu: The World's Most Dangerous Cheese Located in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Italian island of Sardinia is surrounded by a coastline of 1,849 kilometers of sandy beaches and emerald waters, with the inland landscapes rising to form steep, rugged hills and mountains. اضافة اعلان Amid these slopes, shepherds produce Casu Marzu, also known as "rotten cheese," a cheese infested with live insect larvae. In 2009, the Guinness World Records declared this cheese to be one of the most dangerous varieties in the world. The type of fly known as the "cheese fly" lays its eggs in the cracks of the cheese, usually Pecorino Sardo, which has a salty flavor. The larvae hatch and work their way into the cheese, digesting the proteins and transforming the cheese into a creamy, soft texture. The cheesemaker then opens the top part of the cheese, which has not been touched by the larvae, and extracts a spoonful of the product. At this stage, the larvae inside begin to wriggle furiously. Some locals spin the cheese in a centrifuge to mix the larvae into the cheese, while others consume it as is. If you can overcome the disgust, this type of cheese has a strong flavor reminiscent of the Mediterranean pastures, with a spicy taste that lasts for hours. Some claim that this cheese acts as a natural aphrodisiac, while others argue that it may pose a health risk, as the larvae might survive the chewing process and cause tiny holes in the intestines. However, no such cases have been directly linked to Casu Marzu. The cheese is banned from commercial sale, but the people of Sardinia have been eating it with larvae for centuries. Paolo Solinas, a 29-year-old food connoisseur from Sardinia, says that the invasion of larvae is the secret recipe for this cheese. He adds that while some Sardinians are repelled by the idea of Casu Marzu, others have grown up eating Pecorino cheese without hesitation and love its strong flavors. Solinas states, "Some shepherds view the cheese as a unique personal pleasure, and only a select few can experience it." Old Kitchen When tourists visit Sardinia, they often end up in restaurants serving "Porceddu Sardo," a slow-roasted suckling pig, and visit bakers selling "Pane Carasu," a traditional, thin, flatbread. They may also meet the shepherds who produce the salty Pecorino Sardo cheese. However, if you're adventurous enough, you might find Casu Marzu cheese filled with larvae. It shouldn't be viewed as a strange attraction but rather a product that keeps ancient traditions alive and hints at what the future of food may look like. Giovanni Fanciullo, a 77-year-old journalist and food connoisseur from Sardinia, has spent his life researching the history of local food. He traces Casu Marzu back to the time when Sardinia was a province of the Roman Empire. There were no written records of Sardinian recipes until 1909, according to Fanciullo. At that time, Vittorio Agnetti, a doctor from Modena, traveled to Sardinia and compiled six recipes in a book called "La nuova cucina delle specialità Regionali." Fanciullo adds, "We always ate worms, and both Pliny the Elder and Aristotle talked about it." Food enthusiasts, often inspired by chefs like Gordon Ramsay, often travel to find this cheese, according to Fanciullo. Hefty Fines The unusual Sardinian cheese dates back to the Roman era. Despite its status, the legal situation of this cheese is a gray area. Casu Marzu is registered as a traditional product of Sardinia and is therefore protected locally. However, the Italian government has considered it illegal since 1962 due to laws prohibiting the consumption of foods infected with parasites. Those who sell this type of cheese can face hefty fines of up to 50,000 euros (approximately 60,000 dollars). In recent years, the European Union has begun to explore the idea of consuming larvae, thanks to the new food concept of farming insects for human consumption. Research suggests that eating them could help reduce carbon emissions associated with livestock farming and mitigate the climate crisis. Roberto Flor, head of the Dietary Change Laboratory at the Innovation Center of the Technical University of Denmark's "Skylab FoodLab," has long studied the concept of insect consumption. For years, Flor led the research and development team at the "Nordic Food Lab," which is part of the Michelin-starred restaurant NOMA, trying to find ways to integrate insects into our diet. Flor says, "Many cultures consider insects a food component." However, the people of Sardinia prefer their cheese with larvae and are often horrified by the idea of eating scorpions or cockroaches in Thailand. Flor has traveled the world studying how different cultures approach insects as food, and while psychological barriers make it difficult to drastically change eating habits, he believes that insect consumption is widespread.
