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.
Who am I to argue, with a route as beautiful as this, the Ciclovia dell’Acquedotto Pugliese– the Apulian Aqueduct Cycle Route? Thanks to Bicitalia and Puglian Regional Transport you can literally cycle or walk on water– it’s the first stretch of a 500 km cycling and hiking path being built…
Judith Schrut continues her adventures in southern Italy with a snuggly night in a traditional trullo cottage, a hearty breakfast and a dramatic visit to a cave. The trulli of Alberobello, Puglia: you’ve probably seen them loads of times - in ads for romantic getaways, stylish snaps on Instagram…
In "Coffee"
About Judith Schrut
Judith is a writer and journalist who writes about people, places, food, the arts and more. Born and raised in California, Judith has lived in her favourite city-- London-- for over 30 years. She writes and blogs regularly for Tikichris and American in Britain Magazine, creating enjoyable-to-read features, previews, reviews and interviews. She's also an experienced editor and researcher. More on Judith at californianinlondon.dudaone.com.
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