EMILIA
We interviewed Mrs Emilia Olivieri and her son Giacomo; they come from Abbasse (AL). During our trip, they kindly explained us the method for making cheese in the past, using natural rennet.
Mrs Emilia is one of the few people that still uses natural rennet, for making "robiola" cheese. Her production is for family consumption. The natural rennet extracted from abomasus: the four stomach of calf. Inside it we find partial digested milk. This substance is diluted with water and whey. After dilution the rennet is preserved for a few day, in the fridge. Calf abomasus is almost nowhere to be found and it had a preserving time of over three years, since partial digested milk becomes dry. Emilia showed us all the stage through which we can arrive at the "furmagetta" production. His son Giacomo milks goats twice a day (in the morning and in the evening). All successive operations are carried out by mum Emilia. Milk is left to rest, for almost two hours after milking, because it must get cold. When milk has got the suitable temperature, it is poured into "pignatin" (cylindrical, plastic containers with 2 l capacity). When milk is in the "pignatin", Emilia adds the rennet, the prong of a spoon, mixing well to dissolve the whole homogeneously, the amount varies according to the milk available. Milk with rennet is left to rest for about twelve hoars; at the end of this time, thanks to rennet's action, the whey deposits at the bottom of the "pignatin", while the solid part floats above. Later the content is poured in to aluminium containers with small holes in the lower part. The holes permit the elimination of whey and drosses. She leaves it to rest again and each two or three hours, she turns the cheese and salts it. When all the whey is drained away, the cheese is put to dry on a white lenght of flax cloth on the table. On the lenght of cloth the cheese gives off the little umidity that was inside. After a day the "furmagette" can be eaten. Mrs Emilia produces "furmagette" daily. In her shed we can find four delicious goat, that in February-March, are rounded by about ten of goatlings. Giacomo also states precisely that "robiola" cheese reqiures clean equipment and enviroment, infact after each operation, all instrument that were used, must be sterilized in boiling water. Giacomo, besides, tells us that he lets some of the cheese season in kind of wooden cage, made of chestnut branches hanging over the stove.