Manufacturers

  Raw milk from Valle del Belìce sheep, raised and fed mainly from free pasture.
The Vastedda della Valle del Belìce is handcrafted by Sicilian cheesemakers who, aided by the autochthonous dairy micro-flora, are able to get to spun the cheese paste from sheep's milk.
logo Vastedda della Valle del Belìce PDO
All skills of Sicilian cheesemakers are needed to adapt the spinning technique to sheep's milk from which the Vastedda della valle del Belìce DOP is obtained.
  Only fresh milk from Valle del Belìce sheep is used.
As tradition, the milk is heated up to a temperature of 40 ° C. After which the lamb rennet paste is added. within 50 minutes the curd is formed, which must be finely broken.
The cheese paste is transferred to the rush containers, fuscelle, where it is left to rest for a period of 24-48 hours, during which the cheese acidifies.
At this point the cheese paste is extracted, cut into strips and placed in a wooden vat, piddiaturi.
  Then, with the addition of hot water and processing with a wooden shovel, vaciliatuma, the spinning of the cheese takes place.
Once spun, the dough is modeled on the tavuleri, thus obtaining braids that are placed in soup plates.
On these plates the pasta settles, and turned a few times takes the characteristic shape.

Insights

The DOP brand for the unique ovine spun paste cheese...

Production area of the Belìce valley

Traditions handed down by history. This is the actual Vastedda...

  The historical equipments are the piddiaturi, the tavuleri, the rotula and the spinning stick ,vaciliatuma. In addition, the copper boiler is used for cooking and ceramic plates that give the characteristic shape.

  The producers of Vastedda della Valle del Belìce PDO are subject to the control implemented by the IZS in operating in accordance with the Production Regulations of the "Vastedda della Valle del Belìce PDO" Cheese and the Control Device approved by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and forestry.
The consortium, appointed by MIPAAF, registers the subjects who intend to participate in the production chain in the appropriate registers and supervises the correct use of the protected name.
  The tools used for the preparation of Vastedda della valle del Belìce DOP are traditional historical tools handed down throughout history..
These are wooden equipment such as the piddiaturi, the tina, the tavuleri, the patella and the spinning stick or the reeds.
All tools that enrich the milk with a dairy microbial flora that give to the Vastedda del Belìce its particularity and specificity in a natural way.
Manufacturers Vastedda della Valle del Belìce PDO
logo Vastedda della Valle del Belìce PDO