From Maremma to Bologna, visiting Marche, the journey of the ‘Think Milk’ Blogger Tour to discover some dairy cooperatives of excellence comes to an end today.
650km, 3 regioni, 3 regions, 3 cooperative realities, over 100 references represented: these are the numbers of the gastronomic journey realized by the Dairy Sector of the Alliance of Agro-Food Cooperatives in company with a group of Italian and German bloggers in search of regional native cheeses.
A real coast-to-coast from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic seas, up Emilia, land of flavours.
The initiative was organized as part of the ‘Think Milk, Taste Europe, Be Smart’ project, promoted by the Dairy Sector of the Alliance of Agrifood Cooperatives, developed by Concooperative and cofinanced by the European Commission. Host, Coordinator Giovanni Guarneri, who commented: “The dairy productions of our cooperatives are a heritage to be discovered and told. Communication initiatives such as the tour that has just taken place are important to make extraordinary cooperative realities known up close, which foster the work of their dairy members by making products with a strong territorial connotation”.
The itinerary of the tour, along the routes of great cheeses, both fresh and mature, leading products of Italian cooperation, started in Maremma, then touching on Trasimeno, Fano and Bologna to tell the stories and territories behind cheeses such as Gran Maremma, Casciotta d’Urbino PDO or Parmigiano Reggiano PDO.
At Latte Maremma, a cooperative that represents about 50 members, the focus is on the very close link between the territory and the reality of breeding, made up of farms that are still medium small realities, more than 90% family-sized.
Over time, these producers have been able to diversify their offerings, flanking the production of milk and fresh cheeses with an extraordinary seasoned product, Gran Maremma, which can be tasted just here since production is completely absorbed by the local agritourism offer.
Equally surprising is Blu Maremma, the only blueveined cheese produced south of the Po and awarded prizes by the most authoritative national cheese competitions. Not to be missed in this season is the combination with chestnut pappardelle.
Tre Valli Cooperlat is the third largest Italian reality in terms of volume, with more than 1,000 producers, 11 social cooperatives and 70 cheese references represented, from Casciotta d’Urbino PDO, to Formaggio di Fossa di Sogliano PDO, to Mozzarella STG and Cacio Nocello.
Tre Valli Cooperlat carries out countless collaborations with the gastronomic realities of the area and beyond: one the most surprising discoveries was the pairing of these cheeses with Trasimeno Lake fish, a highly recommended intermediate stop on the way to the enchanting town of Fano, an ideal base for exploring the flavours of Marche region. Among the many seasonal products, worth mentioning are the Pera Angelica di Serrungarina, an ancient Marche variety, and the Acqualagna Truffle.
In Emilia-Romagna, the first region for the number of PDO and PGI products, a good 74, the protagonist was Granarolo, a company that brings together more than 586 farmers, 2628 employees and that is present in 76 countries around the world.
In addition to the variety of products, from fresh to cured, it’s striking to see how it is deeply rooted on the territory and how it engages with far-sighted vision in terms of sustainability, with the Granarolo Sustainable Transition, an important plan that involves the chain of breeder members and aims to reduce greenhouse gases by 30% per kg of milk produced by 2030.
Among the products to be sampled are Parmigiano Reggiano PDO, Gorgonzola PDO and Stracchino, paired with Noci [nuts] di Romagna.
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