Canestrato di Castel del Monte

Canestrato di Castel del Monte is a hard pecorino made from pure sheep’s milk, mainly from Sopravissana and Gentile di Puglia breeds. The cheeses weigh from about half a kilo to two and a half kilos and have a pronounced flavour that becomes sharp with age.

It is named after the rush baskets (canestri) in which the curd is pressed, which leave their pattern on the rind. It is a Slow Food Presidium, and the producers belong to the Consortium for the protection of Canestrato di Castel del Monte.

It comes from the pastures on the southern side of the Gran Sasso: much of the Campo Imperatore plateau, at around 1,800 metres, belongs to the municipality of Castel del Monte, in the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park.

1. The milk is filtered and heated to 35–40 °C for 15–25 minutes.
2. Natural rennet from lamb’s stomach is added and the milk curdles.
3. The curd is broken into pieces the size of maize grains and, on some farms, cooked at 40–45 °C for about a quarter of an hour.
4. It is put into baskets (fiscelle) and pressed to drain the whey; then it is salted.
5. The cheeses age on wooden boards in cool, airy rooms, the casere, and are rubbed with olive oil from time to time: from 2 months to over a year.

Young, it is a table cheese; aged, it is grated over pasta like a strong pecorino.

• In shavings with fresh broad beans, pears or honey
• Grated over pasta with lamb sauce and over spaghetti alla chitarra
• With country bread and cured meats, alongside arrosticini
• In omelettes, fillings and Easter cheese breads

• Choose the age according to use: 2–4 months for the table, over 8 months for grating.
• Keep it wrapped in a cotton cloth or cheese paper in the least cold part of the fridge.
• Take it out of the fridge half an hour before serving.
• The oiled rind is not eaten.

The image is an illustration drawn for abruzzoparchi.it: we could not find free photos showing the Abruzzo product itself. If you have a photo to share, write to us.

Transhumance has been practised on the Campo Imperatore plateau for at least two thousand years: in summer the flocks climbed the drove roads (tratturi) to the high pastures, in winter they went down towards Puglia. Castel del Monte was one of the main centres of this pastoral economy.

Today the tradition is shrinking. The Slow Food Presidium, working with the National Park, aims to preserve it and turn it into work and development for young people in the mountains.