The Lazy K Ranch

What it’s like to make cheese by hand in Tuscany, Italy - SilverKris

"On a hands-on visit to a sheep farm in the Tuscan countryside, a jovial, lifelong cheesemaker demonstrates traditional pecorino toscano production in his light-filled kitchen, even noted for a brief appearance in the 2003 film Under the Tuscan Sun. He milks his sheep by hand and heats the resulting raw milk to 25°C before adding rennet and letting it set for 20 minutes; the first, deceptively light curd—raviggiolo—is scooped off, while the remaining curd is vigorously stirred with a frulla (a spiked wooden stick). Guests are invited to plunge their forearms into the warm whey to lift the heavy mass of soft cheese into plastic moulds, then “pinch” the surface to release liquid and reveal the distinctive ridged pattern from the mould base. Each hunk is rubbed generously with sea salt, left a month, then coated in a grainy mix of wood ash and homemade olive oil and aged for a further three months, yielding a tangy, firm pecorino toscano." - SilverKris