Zucca Burrata
How does a Neapolitan agronomist end up on the Castilian plateau? Salvatore met Ana from Erasmus in Portugal. And blessed Erasmus: from that vital coincidence (or destiny) Zucca was born, the only Artisan cheese factory that produces cow and sheep pasta filata cheeses in Spain.
Although first they passed that irrefutable test that is a long-distance relationship ( Ana is from Valladolid ), a few years later they managed to get together in Almería, where Salvatore was an international consultant for tomato cultivation greenhouses and Ana, a curator at the Alcazaba, and later they lived in Madrid, because Ana, an art historian, had the opportunity to work at the Reina Sofia Museum.
Zucca Braid
But at 44 and 34 years, respectively, they decided to undertake, start a new trade... and a new life . “Salvatore had always wanted make cheeses like the ones from Italy because it was not easy to find them here ”. And although they recognize us that training as a cheesemaker in Spain is very complicated and that the process of creating a small cheese factory is very long , after many courses (including an Erasmus for entrepreneurs during a summer in Provence) and a lot of trial and error, they settled in the Provincial Craft Center of Portillo, a small village of potters and confectioners with the artisan spirit of Valladolid.
“We wanted to be in a place where we had milk and that we liked . We value different places in Spain, such as a town in the Soria mountain , but there was no sheep's milk there, which is what we started the project with, or Asturias, because we love it and Salvatore wanted to be near the sea, and even the Community of Madrid because we lived there at that time. But a friend told me that there was the possibility of renting a ship in gate , in an incubator for artisan companies... and I really wanted to go back home, also so that my children could grow up with their grandparents”. And Ana acknowledges that they have hit the nail on the head: “ Valladolid is close to Madrid but here we have a lot of rural environment ”. So much so that they buy the milk, about 4,000 liters a week , to a ranch that is only 10 kilometers from the cheese factory. And they, who have a local soul, make it possible for it to continue to exist. "Here you feel part of a chain: everyone receives what they need to stay in this place."
Zucca Mozzarella
It was at the end of 2016 when they began to produce. “ First, cured cheese : the cacciocavallo , which we have baptized as pumpkin, because of its shape, and it is what gives our cheese factory its name”. But soon they began to ask mozzarella : “We also sell to pizzerias. There are more and more pizzaiolos who want to be distinguished by the cheese and not only by the dough”. And for a couple of years they produce burrata , that Italian cheese that years ago sounded like everything except what it is: a snowy and round delicacy that incites gluttony, with an interior that generates addiction and that is always too small for us, especially to share. Fortunately, for some time now we have tried the one from restaurants like Fellina, Noi and even the one injected with basil sauce and Bloody Rosy from Inclán Brutal or with Neapolitan pesto from Pomerania, because until not long ago we were missing out on a delicacy.
In Zucca they also make straciatella (the burrata filling, which many people spread on toast because it reminds them of their childhood, of that coveted milk cream) or scamorza , a soft cow's cheese typical of southern Italy. And the next thing will be sheep mozzarella : “We have done several tests and we are getting a really special product, with the texture of mozzarella and the flavor of pecorino. We want to start marketing it in the coming months."
Straciatella by Zucca
They don't stop creating. Lately, mozzarella making workshops have also been invented. Starting this summer, families and small groups of friends (minimum four and maximum eight people) They go to the cheese factory to experiment with their own hands and taste, of course. "Before we made joint visits to the castle and the cheese factory but with the pandemic it was not feasible." Ana tells us that when they try the cottage cheese or the mozzarella they hallucinate. “ They have the idea that cottage cheese is that doughy and dry thing that stays on your palate and ours is very creamy, ricotta type”.
Scarmoza by Zucca
And what next? “ This 2021 we plan to expand the cheese factory, which has already become too small . We want Zucca to become a reference, to be known as the country's pasta filata cheese factory”. There are four working on it, plus external advisors. Ana, for example, does not participate in the elaboration process but she has been trained to understand the world of cheese and to be able to market it. Since 2019 she is 100% dedicated to Zucca . "And we have many future projects related to heritage and gastronomic and rural tourism." But the cornerstone of it will remain the craft: “We believe that it is at the origin, in the raw material with which we make our cheeses , in the hands that make each one different and imperfect, in the care and respect for waiting times, necessary to achieve those unique nuances, in the passion that makes us daydream and in the freedom to do what we like ”.
Zucca cheeses can be purchased on its website and at different points in Asturias, Barcelona, Alicante, Murcia, Almería, Málaga, Seville, Madrid, Salamanca, Plasencia… or directly in the cheese factory itself.
Preparation of the straciatella