Our journey to discover the tasty Occelli cheeses This time brings us to talk about another special product, the fruit of Beppino's experience: Occelli® in Chestnut leaves.
As in the case of Occelli® al Barolo and the Langhe, protagonists of the first stop on our taste itinerary “Flavours and territories” , also in this case what immediately catches the eye is the strong bond between this cheese and the Piedmont region.
The use of leaves of chestnut to refine this sheep and cow cheese gives us the necessary inspiration to take a long leap back in time, to the Middle Ages: in fact, it was the monks of this era who immediately understood the importance of this plant for the survival of local populations - imported from Asia Minor by the Romans - and, consequently, to preserve and spread its cultivation.
In fact, its use has continued up to the present day and the historical period in which the chestnut tree represented one of the first riches for the populations that lived in the Piedmont valleys. This very versatile plant has had a great diffusion in the past centuries, when our ancestors They exploited it not only for its fruit , but also to obtain wood to put in the stove and keep warm , as well as being a fundamental resource for the sale of green chestnuts or for their drying , while the leaves were used to make animal litter.
A very versatile resource, therefore, that Beppino Occelli has decided to exploit by using its leaves, coming from the mountain woods of Val Casotto , for to create an original cheese with an unmistakable flavour .
Furthermore, there are few other crops in this area, such as corn, but these are small traditional crops and, consequently, the environmental impact is very low.
