Pecorino Gioia del Pastore raw milk

It is our JOY; in fact, it is a real pleasure for us to offer cheese that truly shows our love for this work. It may seem exaggerated but it is the pure truth, this cheese comes from traditional artisanal skills, as well as the love and care that our shepherd friend puts in his work and for his sheep.
We cannot describe it without first explaining all the work to make it and above all where it comes from. The young people carrying out this hard work have grown up sheep farming and making cheese. It is not a cheese factory and they carry out a completely manual cheese making process.
The well-being of their sheep and the ideal sanitary conditions in which they are kept is their first priority; the second one is their cheese making technique which is entirely carried out by hand.
They use raw milk and add only animal rennet but no enzymes to it; in fact, the micro biotic flora is the milk’s own. The curd is split manually into rice sized bits (using a special tool called “spino”), and then placed by hand in the draining moulds.
The salting takes place when it is dry.
One of the secrets that makes this cheese unique is how it is washed; in fact, this very treatment gives it a particular and special flavour.

In 2012 it was awarded first prize as best raw milk farm cheese at the ALMA CASEUS national competition.
In 2014 it received a Special Mention at ALMA CASEUS as a farmhouse cheese.
In 2016, again at ALMA CASEUS placed third in the usual category.