Cheese Art 2002, A Renaissance of Taste Ragusa, Sicily
June 2002
Imagine a world where political leaders, academics, farmers, journalists, and the public could come together to support a common cause. And imagine that cause to be Cheese. Cheese Art 2002 was more than an event- it was a tool to educate, motivate and change the way people eat. It provided a profound insight to the methods of cheese production, cheese properties and of course, cheese tastes. Cheese Art was organized by the Consorzio Ricerca Filira Lattiero-Casearia (CoRFiLaC) and in the words of the founder of CoRFiLaC, Professor Guiseppe Licitrra "The dream and motivation of CoRFiLaC with Cheese Art is to give dignity and pride to traditional production systems, integrating the world of research with the world of Eno-gastronomy through a renaissance of taste".
The CoRFiLaC lab alone is an impressive operation. Recently opened, it stands surrounded by the beautiful mountain landscape of the Ragusa countryside, defined uniquely by the stone fences around grazing land for the cows and sheep of the region. The lab is a flurry of academics, scientists and researchers discovering and documenting the particular properties of the Ragusana Cheese. Their research focuses on discovering and maintaining the factors of production that cheese-makers and breeders have used to produce high quality cheese that is specific to the region. The ultimate goal is to preserve and stimulate the gastronomic heritage of the region with conferences such as Cheese Art, which stands as the perfect vehicle for the celebration of regional pride.
A typical day of the event packed festival consisted of a morning academic forum of international scientists discussing such issues as "Protection of Biodiversity and Ancestral Knowledge in Traditional Healing" by MN Anderson from the International Healers Association in Switzerland and "Sustainable Development of Milk and Dairy Products in Tunisa" by M. Slah of the Institute National Argronomique de Tunisie. The mid-day break featured a tasting workshop that compared the qualitative differences between fresh, raw milk, pasteurized and thermal heated cheese, to an afternoon workshop on "Brainstorming of World Eno-Gastronomy" with an esteemed panel of international researchers, wine makers, cheese producers, journalists and nutritionists.
Inside the 8th century castle's winding stone halls were cheese stands from around the globe, including Portugal, Greece, France, Morocco, Israel and America, each country proudly displaying their local product, like a medieval reminder of the traders that crossed and conquered Sicily over the centuries. Outside the castle grounds, the local cheese purveyors and other vendors had stands set up to sell and sample their products. Amidst such a plethora of great taste, it was difficult to decide which products deserve special recognition, until approaching Il Pane Nero di Castelvetrano, which was paired with fresh garlic clove, olive oil and Sale Marino Integrale Iodato di Trapani (salt).
The bread has a grain that is said to have properties that induces happiness, and decreases anxiety. Indeed, while tasting it along with the seductive powers of the garlic and oddly sweet flavor of the salt, it sent a group of us into a moment of epiphany, and we were overcome with energy for the rest of the evening.
For more information on Il Pana Nero di Castelvetrano, visit:
http://www.comunedicastelvetrano.it or contact rizzo.tommaso@libero.it.
For more information on the Cheese Art 2002 Conference visit: the Out of Town section on Foodevents.com.
Words and images by Jenine Lurie.
