The excellences of the Sicans
From the “Flower Meadow”
to the rum one
The new cheeses
by Vinti Brothers
In San Biagio Platani
the company that processes
girgentana goat milk
Slow Food Presidium
Four new cheeses for San Biagio Platani-based La Mannirata, which processes milk from Slow Food Presidio Girgentana goats raised in its pristine pastures.
Four new additions to the more than forty-five types of La Mannirata goat cheeses already distributed throughout Italy; and marking a new stage in the journey of brothers Stefano and Vincenzo Vinti. For them, in fact, a new certification is on the way, again as part of the Slow Food Presidium that protects goats and products made with Girgentana milk at risk of extinction.
“It’s about,” says master cheesemaker Stefano Vinti, “the Prati Fioriti Presidium, which certifies the quality of pastures absolutely free of chemicals. A recognition that we have decided to celebrate with four new creations; and, in particular, there is one called “Prato fiorito,” a fresh dairy with forty-eight hours of ripening, then refined with different types of berries, such as wild strawberries and blackberries, and, finally, with cornflower flowers.”
Also very special is the second new cheese, among other things, which has yet to be baptized: “A paste between semi-soft and semi-hard,” says Stefano, “produced with presamic coagulation, that is, with the addition of rennet. The special feature is the addition of dark rum and the exterior covered with tobacco leaves that give the cheese a unique aroma.”
It is inspired by the Latin name for the milk thistle, the third new cheese produced by La Mannirata of San Biagio Platani. “Cynarra,” made with vegetable rennet, has all the sweetness of Girgentana goat’s milk with the hint of lemony thyme and the aftertaste of artichoke, given precisely by the milk thistle, which is nothing more than a wild artichoke.
Dulcis in fundo, the fourth new creation: the “Girgenti Black,” a French-style lactic made with vegetable charcoal: “Once upon a time,” says Stefano, “in France they used ashes directly!”
Well, all that remains is to taste these delicacies as soon as possible, perhaps by going directly to the winery, after booking a unique experience.
If Stefano, in fact, is passionately involved in cheese production, it is Vincenzo who is equally enthusiastic about raising goats. An activity he carries on with such love that, with his friend Pierfilippo Spoto of Val di Kam, he invented “Il Giorno del Pastore.”
This is one of the most interesting appointments of experiential tourism in the Sicani: it starts in the morning with the stories of the shepherds told in the sheepfold; then visitors who want to, can participate in the manual milking of the goats, taste the freshly milked milk and enjoy a first cheese tasting. The adventure continues ein plein air, following the goats as they graze, and since the outdoors, all the more so when it’s good, works up an appetite, a picnic with bread, cheese and good wine is always on the agenda.
“We return to the farm at sunset,” says Vincenzo Vinti, “tired but satisfied,” our guests confide to us; whom we often have the opportunity to see again, because, and they are always the ones to say it, a day outdoors, and what’s more, with the baby goats, is a fabulous stress reliever, a unique way to clear the mind of too many thoughts.
La Mannirata goat’s milk cheeses are among the products of excellence recognized by the Sicani Rural Quality District, the collective brand that promotes as a territorial unicum the vast and varied area that stretches from the sea to the Sicani Mountains, bringing together a network of agricultural activities and production of goods and services, and endowing them with a certification that guarantees their quality.
Text by Editors
