Saffron + Sheep’s Milk Cheese = Spice of Life

Hello Fellow Travelers!

As I travel, you can always find me at the cheese case…retailers large and small, specialty stores, and international markets. Sure, I am searching for cheeses that I am not familiar with, but I am looking for the opportunity to hear from the cheesemongers (or just the person that stocks the case) and learn their favorites, what customers are looking for, local items, and upcoming trends. Most of the time, I find cheeses that I readily recognize, but not on this last visit to upstate New York. I spotted a cheese that visually stopped me in my tracks – Pinna Brigante with Saffron. Wow!...the color  really jumped out of the cheese case and made me take a closer look! Other than the color, what makes this cheese so special?....Well, let’s take a closer look.

F.lli Pinna Industria Casearia S.p.A. , producers of Pinna Brigante, has a story that goes back 100 years – On the island of Sardinia, there lies the small town of Thiesi (population of 3,165) which is located in the northern province. It was here that two brothers, Giommaria and Francesco Pinna, wanted to produce Sardinian cheeses and make them famous beyond the island, so they began their work by uniting lots of small producers. They had a vision: they knew there was a large market for these Sardinian products in Italy and in the United States. They produced Pecorino Romano, but also worked together to create numerous other traditional Sardinian cheeses. Today, the company is still family owned by the third generation (the grandsons of Giommaria and Francesco) and are proud to produce many cheeses bearing their brand and the flavors of Sardinia.

Pinna Brigante is produced using sheep’s milk and animal rennet. These lucky sheep get to enjoy the unique climate and flora that only can be found on the island of Sardinia. Formed in a small 3 lb. wheel with a basket weave design on the outside, and is aged 25 days. 

Photo courtesy of Italianfoodxp

But the unique attribute of this cheese has to be the Saffron! Known as “the most expensive spice in the world”, Spain and Sardinia are two of the most well-known growers of this spice, but actually Iran accounts for the majority of the production of this spice. So what makes it SO expensive?...Well, Saffron is derived from the flower of Crocus sativus; specifically the the vivid crimson stigma and styles (called threads) are collected by hand and dried to be used mainly as a seasoning and coloring agent in food. It takes one hundred and fifty flowers, strictly hand-picked, to produce a single gram of dry saffron. So how many grams in an ounce?...You would have to pick the “threads” from 4,245 of the flowers, just to get one ounce. WOW!

Saffron has been called “The Spice of Life” – A term which simply means “What makes life interesting, exciting, enjoyable, or worthwhile.

I was already a big fan of sheep’s milk cheese, but this is an interesting, exciting, enjoyable, and worthwhile cheese worth finding.

So why did I pair this cheese with spiced Cashews?...Well, they come from the bottom center of a fruit, just like the Saffron comes from the center of a flower.

See you in the cheese aisle!

Trevor