Sicily is a land to be discovered also from a dairy point of view. The history of Sicilian cheeses it is millenary, Homer himself spoke of it in his Odyssey (Polyphemus produces cheese) and Aristotle in the History of Animals. And very ancient roots surround the story of a unique cheese, which is produced only in a dairy in Castronovo in the province of Palermo, in the heart of the Monti-Sicani, and for many years fell into oblivion. It's about the Tuma Lost and brought back to life in the late 90s by Salvatore Passalacqua, owner of the dairy based in Castronovo, saving an ancient cheese unknown at the time with the sole aim of preserving, indeed enhancing its quality.
The Tuma Persa has a balanced flavor, between the Dolce e spicy, and an intense aromatic scent reminiscent of blue cheeses. It is a soft cow's milk cheese aged for at least eight months. Its name derives from the seasoning technique: it tends to be "abandoned" for a certain period of time before being worked on for the first time.
La Tuma Persa combines an ancient tradition thanks to a text from the 30s and the help of Roberto Rubino, a researcher at the Extensive Animal Husbandry of Bella (Potenza), and the experience and experimentation of Salvatore, an expert in the regional dairy art. This cheese was produced many centuries ago, but disappeared from the Sicilian gastronomic scene for many decades. But Tuma isn't the only cheese recovered by Salvatore, even the Garofalo flower (Fiore Sicano) is among the pearls of this dairy, a thermised whole milk cheese, salt, lamb rennet, lactic ferments produced in an artisanal way.
THE HISTORY OF THE PASSALACQUA COMPANY
The company was founded at the end of the 80s, with the passion and determination of a young entrepreneur (Salvatore Passalacqua) who, despite the wishes of his parents, abandoned the path of the family business dedicated to baking to devote himself to the dairy one.
The first bet was to create a new cheese that broke out of the traditional Sicilian schemes, respecting tradition and using quality raw materials, and this is why, at the beginning, it was decided to produce the milk on the farm. However, being self-taught and with limited economic possibilities, he decides to devote himself only to the transformation of milk. Meanwhile, the company grows and Salvatore's project on Tuma Persa takes shape, but he also begins to produce traditional local cheeses, always with the aim of preserving and enhancing their quality. Together with the Tuma and the Fiore Sicano, the company produces the Primo Sale Bianco, the Pepato one, the one with Chili pepper, the Canestrato, the Narangi Canestrato with orange and the sweetened ricotta cream.
From a small dairy company, the Sicilian dairy has become a small modern industry with niche products, managing to preserve traditions but always keeping an eye to the future.
THE PRODUCTION OF TUMA PERSA
This cheese is obtained from the milking of whole cow's milk with the addition of kid's rennet paste. After being put into shape, the tuma is "abandoned" for about 8/10 days, until the first mold appears which is roughly removed and then left to ferment again for another 8/10 days before being brushed and salty. And it is precisely thanks to the mold that surrounds the cheese during this phase that the Tuma acquires its characteristic flavour.
Finally, the seasoning of about 8 months in rooms built with tuff ashlars on the walls favors a slow and gradual maturation. The result is a soft cheese, semi-cooked or raw, with a yellow-ocher rind, which tends to darken when the cheese is subjected to "curatina", i.e. capping performed with oil and ground pepper. Its paste, of a white-straw yellow colour, is tender and compact with almost no holes.
The Passalacqua Dairy uses only milk from neighboring municipalities (no more than 18 km away) such as Santo Stefano di Quisquina, Prizzi, Palazzo Adriano, Cammarata, Bivona and from Castronovo di Sicilia itself. Chosen from wild or semi-wild farms, which exploit the vegetative-productive characteristics of the flora present in the area, especially the woodland.
PAIRINGS: FOOD AND WINE
The Tuma Persa is excellent combined with raw vegetables, both as a second course and at the end of a meal, with homemade bread, wildflower honey, a spicy pear and quince mustard. Its mellow taste makes it perfect with local red wines such as Nerello Masscaleseotherwise also with Nero d'Avola, Merlot, Syrah, Malvasia Lipari but also with Passito di Pantelleria. Tuma can also be combined with local white wines such as Greek or a Marsala.
