Flavors and territories: Robiola Occelli

Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder. Don't worry, this is not the beginning of a university latin literature lesson, but just the inspiration we need to introduce the new protagonist of Sapori e territori: robiola cheese.

But what is the connection between a Roman writer who lived over two thousand years ago and one of Piedmont's best and most appreciated cheeses?

The answer is to be found in the only work left to us by the famous Latin scholar, where the author mentions it as one of Piedmont's peculiarities.  The goodness of this fresh cheese is therefore a guaranteed characteristic of a thousand-year-old tradition, to which Beppino Occelli certainly could not remain indifferent.

This cheese, with its edible walnut-shell crust, is one of Beppino's excellent products, with a delicate flavour and hints of hazelnut and dried fruit, made exclusively from Piedmontese cow's milk, further underlining his attachment to the traditions and high quality of the Alta Langa region, in other words the area on the border with Liguria, is an area which includes some interesting villages.  To name just a few, Murazzano, from which you can see the sea on a clear day, Mombarcaro, Cortemilia, famous for its hazelnut groves, and Bossolasco, all fascinating villages where time seems to have stopped.

Returning to our robiola, the origin of its name is very interesting, but less certain than its undoubted goodness. The most accepted hypothesis is the Latin origin of the name, from "ruber". It seems, in fact, that the Romans called this cheese "rubeola", a term used by Pliny himself, precisely to recall the reddish colour taken on by the rind of the more mature cheeses. Another theory is that the term derives from Robbio Lomellina, a village in the province of Pavia, where the first evidence of production of this cheese dates back to 1500.

The link between robiola and the Piedmontese land is therefore another concrete proof of the care and passion that Beppino Occelli puts into the creation of his cheeses, a craft that, thanks to the perfect harmony between flavour and territory, becomes art.