Verde Naturale

This is a vegetarian, BIO, raw sheep’s milk cheese from Formaggi Debbene in Sardegna. It is made with thistle rennet and raw milk from the Pecora Sarda breed. Gianfranco, the cheesemaker, works with his brother on their closed circle farm. They grow all the feed for their herd of sheep, and the thistle for the rennet grows wild on their land. They only make cheese from January to June, when the sheep produce milk, so we receive 2 ages of the cheese: 5-6 months as well as 11-12 months. During its time aging, the rind is rubbed with olive oil. The paste is compact with very few small eyes. It is smooth, with a vegetal aroma, and an herbal taste with slight piquancy in the finish.