We had a chance to compare the glamorous buffalo operation to what farming has been like on the ground here for generations. Next door to our rental, Anna, the caretaker of our house, lives in a old stone farmhouse. She has goats, sheep, chickens, rabbits, olives, a small garden, and her husband keeps hunting dogs to go after pigs in the hills. Anna invited us over for a visit during milking and cheese-making time one evening.
We knew it was time to head over to Anna's when her husband brought the goats in from browsing around the neighborhood all afternoon.
The goats' pen is a lot simpler than the buffalos'--no massager in sight--but they do get most of the day out and about.
There's a happy billy, maybe a dozen nannies, and assorted kids.
These sweeties were pretty patient while we had a go at their udders.
Anna's husband got the job done more efficiently meanwhile.
The milk doesn't get any fresher--warm and wonderful.
Milking done, we checked out the rabbits, and some adorable, tiny bunnies.
We also looked in on the chickens in their coop tucked under Anna's house.
On to making cheese in Anna's workroom on the other side of her basement. Anna pours the milk into a pot to heat up:
Just add a bit of rennet:
When that curdles properly, Anna sets up the first round of cheese:
The cheeses age for some weeks in the next room (there's also a ham hanging in another corner).
Alongside, olives and sardines are curing.
Anna boils what's left in the pot again for ricotta ("re-cooked"):
Drained and packed into a basket, this is what you eat fresh; we took some home for dinner.
In these simple quarters there's a bounty of glorious food. It's easy to romanticize it--it doesn't get more real, down to earth, local. It's a living: Anna's husband sells their products out of his truck at the market in Agropoli. Reality also means that Anna and her husband work hard and are tied to the land and their responsibilities.
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