During Judith Schrut‘s tour of Puglia, she made time to visit Itria Bontà, a small family farm which has been producing organic cheese and other deli delights for over 70 years.
In charge at Itria Bontà nowadays is Giorgio Spalluti – aka “Big George”– who makes his cheese entirely by hand, using traditional methods learned from his father and grandfather with milk from the farm’s herd of Freesians. One only need watch Big George in the farm kitchen to understand the ‘art’ in artisan. His style involves, amongst other moves, stretching, twirling, paddling, squeezing, weaving, braiding and pinching. And provided you wash your hands, he’s happy to let visitors have a go.
It’s no surprise that Itria Bontà’s won many awards for its mozzarella, burrata, caciocavalli and scamorze cheeses and its unique canestrato pugliese, shaped and aged in special baskets. It also makes other deli yummies like Itria Grana for grating into pasta dishes, pungent ricotta forte and spicy capocollo, a pleasantly addictive kind of prosciutto.
Itria Bontà, Via Alberobello, 617/B, Martina Franca. Arrange a visit at Itriabonta.it.
Stay tuned for more Eat Puglia posts to come.
