Milk Processing System in Barbasia of Sardinia (Italy), Mediterranean Area

Abstract

　The purpose of this paper is to 1) understand the cheesemaking process practiced in Sardinia, 2) analyze how the people utilized the ecology to mature cheeses in the summer heat, and 3) discuss the history of the development of matured cheeses in Sardinia, Italy. The matured hard cheese named Casu crudu (S)/Fiore Sardo (I) has processed in Sardinia by the pasta cruda method. The transhumant pastoralists in Sardinia used to immediately sell or consume the freshly-made cheeses in the winter and spring when they resided in the lowland. It was also possible to mature cheeses in the lowland, because the temperature was low in the winter and spring. In the hot and dry summer, they migrated to the highland and made matured cheeses as they utilized the cold environment of the highland and their cool residence. They coated the cheese surfaces with olive oil to keep the cheeses from drying and succeeded in maturing the cheeses. They were able to mature cheeses and cope with the Mediterranean climate of hot and dry summer by skillfully utilizing the vertical migration from their year-round transhumance. The geography of Sardinia (comprising of lowland and highland of over 1,000 m above sea level), use of the environment (grazing in the lowland in the winter and fall and in the highland in the summer), and the transhumant lifestyle all contributed to the creation of matured hard cheeses unique to Sardinia.