Cheese Tasting with the Refiner in the Langhe Hills
The Langhe Hills, spreading in southern Piedmont between the Tanaro River and the Apennine Mountains, are renowned for their traditional cheese production.
Meet Piemonte Tour Operator offers the opportunity to meet one of the few cheese refiners of Piedmont for an unforgettable and educational cheese tasting.
Discover Langhe with the Cheese Refiner Experience is not an ordinary dairy farm tour: no petting animals, or watching the cheese-making process.
On the contrary, after a short introduction to the ancient art of refining cheese, guests are brought inside the cave where most of the daily work of the refiner takes place.
Here, wheels of cheese bought from different cheesemakers across the Piedmont region and beyond, are stored.
Part of the experience is the fascinating narration of how the cheese flavor and texture are elevated because of what the refiner does in his cave.
Finally, it is time for the cheese tasting, a guided journey through the senses, appreciating different textures and surprising aromas, paired with marmalades, honey, and breadsticks.
Who is the Cheese Refiner?
Known in France as “affineur”, the term “refining” refers to bringing a cheese, made elsewhere, to a higher quality through maturing. Such a result would not be achieved with the standard aging.
The difference between maturation and aging is merely a matter of time. For example, Robiola di Roccaverano, a velvety goat-milk small cheese produced in the province of Asti, only requires a shorter refining period, referred to as maturation. On the other hand, cow-milk Castelmagno, considered the king of the cheeses of Piedmont, needs a longer aging which can last years.
The cheese refiner is a professional with a solid background in technical skills, like microbiology and chemistry. However, this profession also requires creativity, passion, and patience, as time is a key factor in this activity.
Refining cheese is not random but the outcome of a precise project. Giving a specific character to cheese involves exposing the product to determined external conditions and chemical-physical factors.
The synergy between time, temperature, humidity, microflora, extra ingredients added to the surface of the cheese, the presence or absence of oxygen, and many other elements are monitored daily.
Discover Langhe: the Food and Wine Tour in Piedmont
Discover the Langhe Hills, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its breathtaking vineyard-clad hills, renowned wines, truffles, and intimate culinary activities like visiting the cave of a cheese refiner.
Meet Piemonte Tour Operator has included this unique experience in the 6-day culinary adventure Food and Wine Tour in Piedmont, and in the 9-day classic journey Lake Como, Piedmont & Portofino Tour.
The cave of the cheese refiner is a sacred place. By controlling the humidity and temperature of the room where cheeses are placed, the refiner lets molds and microflora find a perfect substrate to grow. As a consequence, several processes are then triggered. One of them is known as proteolysis: the degradation of proteins that determines an improvement in the texture, flavor, and cheese aroma.
Moreover, based on the curiosity and creativity of the cheese refiner, some types of cheese may be put in contact with ingredients that release their scent and flavor through a process known as osmosis.
Traditional products of the Langhe Hills can be used for this purpose like grape skins pressed after the winemaking, local herbs, and flowers. Sometimes, imported spices too. Their taste can be easily perceived during the cheese tasting, as the product melts in the mouth.
How the Cheese Refiner Plays with Oxygen
Oxygen is another important element that contributes to the final taste of cheese, either with its presence or absence.
Some products can mature in containers such as terracotta jars, often wrapped in hay or leaves. When fermentation begins, the oxygen generates a temperature rise and the cheese releases a part of its whey. At the same time, it absorbs the aromas of the vegetables that surround it.
On the contrary, some other products can be hermetically sealed in containers where only anaerobic microorganisms can grow. That is an example of the action caused by the lack of oxygen.
These sealed jars get saturated with humidity and as a consequence of the temperature rise, the cheese becomes softer, spicier, and richer in aromatic complexity.
Responsibility of Refining Cheese
The craft of refining cheese is ancient and can be described both as an art (because creativity is an important part of it), and as a science, because of the solid educational background needed for this career.
The University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, a small town located between Alba and Bra, in southwest Piedmont, is one of the schools that prepares students who want to pursue their passion and work in this field.
Dealing with raw-milk pasture cheese involves working with live microorganisms and both the cheese maker and the refiner need technical skills.
Raw milk cheese is in constant evolution, as bacteria work to enhance the taste. Therefore, the final product can be exposed to harmful cracks and bad bacteria if not properly handled.
The most intriguing aspect of refining cheese is that the experience leads to predicting how the cheese will react when exposed to certain environmental conditions: this is how a strong character can be transmitted to plain shapes.
Meet The Cheese Refiner in the Lake Como, Piedmont & Portofino Tour
Cheese refiners work hard in their cellars and have a tight routine to follow. One of the most recurrent jobs consists of rubbing the wheels of cheese with brine water or salt, occasionally with spirits, wine, or even beer.
This practice allows the salt or the alcohol to gradually penetrate inside the cheese shape improving the taste and making the crust thicker. Unwanted molds are therefore eliminated and preservation of the cheese is enhanced.
Another common job in the refining cellar consists of regularly turning the cheese wheels, facilitating the drying process, and letting the bacteria work smoothly all over the shape.
These gestures are shown by the cheese refiner in person in our Lake Como, Piedmont & Portofino Tour.
The Tour of the Refining Cellar
Get to know the cheese refining art first-hand on a Meet Piemonte tour and be amazed by the time-honored traditions that go into fine cheese aging. Your expert guide will take you through each step of the refining process and provide background information on the various techniques used to mature cheese.
For example, it is interesting to see the hammer used to detect cracks or air bubbles in the larger shapes. By knocking on the crust, the cheese refiner measures the firmness of the shape by listening to the sound that comes out.
Cheesemaking and Cheese Refining on the Langhe Hills
Each cheese refiner spends a lot of time visiting the dairy farms where the cheesemaking takes place and following the traceability of the product that will be brought into the refining cellar.
It is crucial to control the milk origin, the well-being of the animals, the location of the pastures where cows and goats are fed, and every other step behind the making of each cheese wheel.
The cheese refiner is an artisan who sustains, through his art, the smaller farmers scattered on the mountains and hills of Piedmont. He ensures the sustainability of micro-economic systems. The cheese served to our guests comes from dairy farms with limited production capacity. Therefore those products will never be found on a large-scale market.
Scouting new cheesemakers is a never-ending process that can go beyond the borders of the Piedmont region. This relationship between the refiner and the cheesemaker can also lead to suggested changes in the cheese-making process, pursuing a desired outcome.
