Discovering the Valsesiano mountain pasture cheese

Discover

The event will be conducted by the head cheesemaker of a local farm.

The cheesemaker will proceed with the transformation of milk into cheese from the early stages. Starting from the raw material (alpine milk) he will introduce the participants to the world of pastoralism by telling how high mountain milk is produced. Subsequently, it will directly involve the participants in the transformation of milk using traditional Valsesian tools. Participants will have the opportunity to understand the uniqueness of this production that uses ancient methods through which man becomes a responsible actor of the natural environment that guarantees an excellent final product.

In the first phase, the hygienic and sanitary procedure that guarantees the healthiness of the product will be explained to them, only after providing for the hygienic safety of the participants will it be possible for them to process the milk directly with their hands. In a second phase, the participants directed by the cheesemaker’s guide will work directly in the milk for the first processing into curd. In the third step, they will learn how to turn curd into cheese. Through the use of their hands they will collect the curd to introduce it into special molds, which for the occasion will be small, even children will be able to participate in the company of their parents. During this phase, the cheesemaker will himself produce an original wheel of the weight and shape recognized as the original cheese of Valsesia, showing them how it is possible to place a mark in a natural way and explaining the origins of this process, closely linked to the environmental biodiversity of this mountain area. At the end it will be possible to taste the cheese produced. The cheesemaker will intervene by concluding by explaining the reasons why it is preferable to buy zero-KM agricultural products, where to find them and how to know how to recognize them. Particular attention will be given to children, who will be explained how animals living in the mountains are raised and what behavior is appropriate to adopt when meeting them.