On Friday, a small group visited Agriturismo Caniloro, just outside of Lanciano. Agriturismi can be found all throughout Italy. They are small working farms, usually family-run, that have been restored to offer services similar to a B&B. To be recognized as an agriturismo, the majority of the farm’s income must come from agriculture, and the food served must either be from the farm, or grown locally. Caniloro also runs as an Educational Farm, allowing school groups to visit and learn about local agriculture.
On this day, we learned how to make cheese, starting with milking the cows.
We added rennet to the milk to separate the solid cheese curds from the whey. The process takes some time, so as the milk sat, we were able to tour the farm.
Once the curds were removed from the whey, it was time to strain away any excess liquid, and to shape the cheese using the straining baskets.
Before lunch, it was time to take our annual "Last Supper" photo. This was followed by a tradiational meal of pasta, pork and potatoes, and pallotte cacio e uova.
