Endangered Cheese?

Commercial cheese-making in the traditional straw huts known in Sicily as paggarhiu is now technically illegal in Italy. European Economic Community regulations state that all cheese-making must be done in masonry buildings. The milk must be processed in stainless steel vats over thermostatic-controlled gas or electric heating elements. A strict international health-department bureaucracy monitors the entire industry.

In response to this legislation, many shepherds have formed local cheese-making cooperatives that meet international standards. Even so, the market for traditionally made product is still very strong. Fortunately, some Sicilian shepherds continue making cheese in the paggarhiu using the ancient time-honored method--for their own use, of course. In addition, members of Italy’s Slow Food movement are working to change regulations to allow artisanal food production. The question, as always in the face of modernization: Will the next generation forget the old ways?