In fattoria: Our trips to Italian farms

Ciao a tutti,

Sorry for being absent for the past few weeks.  I started to write a post and then got hit by a sudden onset of work.  We have all our midterms this week so I've been busy writing a research paper for social history (which I thankfully finished last night) and now I need to study for my exams.
Let's see...so many things have been happening lately!  One of the classes I'm taking this semester is sustainable food where we learn about the methods of food production that are responsible and respectful of workers and our natural resources.  Part of the class includes field trips to visit local farms and compare the different types of agriculture.  So two weekends ago, we visited Camporbiano, a bio-dynamic farm outside of Florence.

What is bio-dynamic, you ask?  Good question!  In Italy, organic is called "bio" which is short for biologically (or naturally) grown.  A bio-dynamic farm is different from an organic farm for a couple reasons.  Organic means that the crops or animals have been raised without (or with limited) antibiotics or other natural substances.  Bio-dynamic is a little harder to define.  It is actually more of an agricultural philosophy but essentially it means that crops and animals are raised without antibiotics and with particular attention to their well-being.

Camporbiano produces milk, cheese, and other dairy products from cows and goats, as well as flour, fruit, and honey.  We got a tour of the farm and got to meet all the animals, including two very cute dogs :)

I vitelli!  The calves:)

Bonding time with the Camporbiano cows

 There are two words for "cow" in Italian.  You can either say la mucca (moo-ca) or la vacca, which is almost identical to la vaca in Spanish.  Our guide, who works at Camporbiano, told us that each cow has a name, in addition to the number on their tag and that the farmers know each one.  There are about 40 cows on the farm and during the winter months they live inside the stalls (which are much bigger than they appear in this photo) and during the rest of the year they graze outside.  The stalls, which are cleaned daily, are covered in hay to protect their joints from the hard impact of walking on the concrete all day - basically the same reason we wear good running shoes when we do certain sports or activities that involve lots of walking.  The cows also eat a very healthy diet - only the special hay that is made there on the farm. 

Le capre!  The goats - this one wouldn't stay still long enough to snap a photo that wasn't blurry :)

 Camporbiano has goats to make goats milk products that are very popular here in Italy.  Like the cows, they live not only in the stalls but also in the pastures depending on the seasons.  Our guide explained that because they do not give antibiotics to their animals, they heal them using natural remedies.  He told us that one time they had a bull who injured his leg and they cured him with calendula, a special type of flower with anti-inflammatory properties which grows naturally on the farm.  Incidentally, I have also used calendula gel for muscle pains and can say that it works quite well!

Camporbiano and the beautiful Tuscan countryside

 After our visit, we got to sample the various products, including cheese, bread, veggies, honey, yogurt, and a delicious fresh pear juice.  Yum!

Today was our second field trip and this time we went to Reggio Emilia, in the Emilia-Romagna region to visit la Fattoria Rossi (fattoria = farm in Italian) which is famous for Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.  La Fattoria Rossi is an organic farm, so it was rather different than Camporbiano.

For instance, the stalls the cows lived in were not covered in hay and were rather dirty.  They were also not allowed to roam outside and they ate corn and other grains in addition to hay.

Fattoria Rossi dairy cows

We did get to see how the parmigiano is made, which was neat but a bit smelly because there was so much milk and aging cheese.

Making cheese wheels

The cheese needs to dry a bit before it can be soaked in salt water to preserve it

The cheese has to be inspected by an expert to make sure it meets the standard of parmigiano reggiano cheese.  The wheels are tapped with a little hammer to make sure they are not hollow inside.  If they have any defects, they cannot be sold as parmigiano reggiano but can be sold as other cheese or as grated/powdered parmigiano like we have in the States (although today we learn that our grated "parmigiano" is usually not parmigiano but another different type of cheese called Grana Padano).

Aging gracefully: the cheese storage room :)  Parmigiano needs to age before it is ready to be eaten

These stamps certify that it is Parmigiano Reggiano and also tell us the details about where, when, and how it was made

Afterwards anyone who could eat dairy got to taste some samples of parmigiano that was in different stages of the aging process.  I can't vouch for it myself but I was told that one really can taste the difference between a few months of aging!

Now I'm back in Florence and ready to resume studying for those midterm exams!  If you have any questions about the farms, please ask!  I have lots more information to share that wouldn't fit in this post. :)

A dopo,
Isabella