Casciotta

It nourished a young Raffaello and seduced Michelangelo. Supple and creamy, it is light enough to melt in your mouth and has a taste that leaves you satisfied only while you enjoy it, and yearning for more when it is gone. Raffaello ate it daily in his birthplace of Urbino and Michelangelo desired it so much that he purchased farmland in the Marche (pronounced Maah Kay) region to provide him with a constant supply of this delicacy. It is Casciotta d’ Urbino, a semi-soft cheese.

Casciotta D’ Urbino (pronounced cash-o-ta) is to Urbino what champagne is to Champagne, France; the eponymous product of this region. Promoted by the European Union, the production of casciotta is also regulated by the Protected Designation of Origin standards (PDO) to ensure that the cheese you eat today is as “Urbinian” and high quality as that which Raffaello and Michelangelo enjoyed.

Locals know an authentic casciotta by the  paglierino, or hay-colored, round moulds.

“It has the scent of fresh milk, a sweet tendency and an acid tendency,” says Otello Renzi, a local sommelier and gastronomic adviser, “so it should always be paired with white wines.”

However, one can only take an educated guess as to how today’s casciotta compares to the cheese Raffaello and Michelangelo enjoyed. Casciotta, like Urbino, peaked with the Renaissance and ceased to be produced for hundreds of years. In an effort to recreate a food distinctive to this region, three local cheese producers consorted in the 1970’s to recreate this cheese by referencing various documents that described its original production.

One of these producers is Caseificio Val d’Apsa, located just outside the city walls. The business is run by Bartolomeo Casula and his wife, Maria Grazia Mattei. Although the business was founded just 30 years ago, the traditions of cheese making have been handed down from father to son through several generations of the Casula family. They now have a state-of-the-art factory; however, they do much of the labor by hand–from separating the curds and whey  to breaking the cheese out of the plastic moulds.

On this day, they are making ricotta and Bartolomeo does not feel that his employee is pouring the curds into the plastic baskets with enough care. He takes matters into his own hands, literally, taking the strainer and demonstrating how to properly fill each mould. There is a vibrato of words exchanged that are almost incomprehensible over the hum of the milk tanks before Bartolomeo hands the strainer back over. Standards are paramount; however, the secret is to start with fresh, natural ingredients, especially milk, which Bartolomeo and Maria Grazia purchase from local, family owned farms.

“What makes [their milk different] different and very good is that it is difficult to imitate because the animals eat good food,” explains Maria Grazia. “The taste of cheese even varies slightly with the seasons because their alimentation changes.”

Cheese making may sound like a quaint business, but Maria Grazia is no Little Miss Muffet. She is wearing a stylish sleeveless white top with black sequins running up the front and a coordinating, black skirt with decorative pleats. She thinks nothing of putting on the required plastic booties over her elegant leather turquoise, high-heeled sandals to tour the factory. With olive, glowing skin, tight, curly black hair and a Crest-white smile, she exemplifies the good health that comes from eating fresh, natural foods.

Casciotta is a daily cheese best served with pears and figs and used for typical dishes such as passatelli con fonduta di Casciotta D’Urbino e funghi porcini (an egg pasta served with fresh mushrooms in a light cream sauce). Patrons of Renzi’s restaurant, Serra Alta, can enjoy head chef Andrea Mei’s fresh lobster with a casciotta cream sauce. Rich and creamy, the end product is sweet like crème brulee, but light like mascarpone. It is a delicacy, an example of unparalleled culinary art.

Renzi recommends this cheese to parents of young children: “It’s something very genuine and controlled, instead of those cheeses you buy at the supermarket that you don’t really know the origin of.”

The original casciotta Rafael ate during the Renaissance may not be quite the same as that which children in Urbino eat today; however, the use of milk from sustainable farms, and the hands-on care in the production of this cheese, ensures  that casciotta is a vital ingredient of  la dolce vita in Urbino.