Sora

Characteristics

Production zone

Alpine pastures in the Tanaro valley (Ormea, Valcasotto, Valli del Monregalese and near zones).

Characteristics

Cheese of oat’s milk, with little cow’s milk, fat or half-fat, with raw, soft and pressed dough.

Shape and dimensions

Square shape with 15-25 cm long sides, 3-4 cm high; it weighs 2 to 4 kilos. Very thin rind (pale yellow) in the fresh moulds; brown and hard in the seasoned ones.

Looks of the dough

Soft, fat dough white when fresh, ivory when seasoned.

History

Its origins come from the alpine pastures, as told by Tullio Pagliana, historian, in his study on the life of shepherds in Alta Val Tanaro. Its name comes from the particular look that the moulds assume when they mature, similar to a shoe’s sole (Sora in the local dialect).

Production technique

It is made of oat’s milk, sometimes with a little cow’s milk. The milk is warmed up at 30-36°C with rennet; after having coagulated and having been broken, the mix is put in a cloth and kneaden. Then it is put in the moulds and pressed.

The seasoning lasts one to two months, depending on the season, in fresh and humid rooms.

Taste and smell

Typical flavour of coagulated milk, fragrant, of herbs and alpine flowers, more delicate when the cheese is fresh, more intense when it’s seasoned. Sweet taste, slightly hot, with a bitter side in the seasoned moulds.

How to eat it

Alone.

Recommended wines

Dolcetto di Dogliani.