Making canestrato - the original Italian "basket cheese"

On a recent trip to visit cheese makers in Sicily I realized quite soon that what I found in the local markets was not the international
array of cheeses but primarily cheese being made in the mountains and
valleys surrounding these markets. A perfect example
of what many "Locavores" aspire to achieve but in Sicily has been the
way of life for centuries now. The dominant cheese was the "Basket
Cheese" made in the countryside from ewes milk but also from goat and
cows milk in some areas. The farm I visited in the mountains east of
Palermo had 600 ewes milked twice a day by the cheese maker and his 3
helpers. Believe me this is no small undertaking with 7 days a week,
365 days, year after year.

The name for these wonderful looking 'Canestrati' derives from the fact that they are made by being pressed into a 'Canestri' (Italian word for wicker basket) and the pattern, will show on the cheese itself.

The Sicilian Canestrato is a true delicacy, it is considered among the most valuable cheeses in the Italian casearia, or dairy, tradition. Canestrato cheese is traditionally produced by small farms
that breed specific types of sheep and cows in order to confer to the
cheese a particular and refined flavor.

A thick outer rind leads to the superficial striations left from the traditional wicker basket where the curd is set. The flavor is sweet and
delicate and tends toward slight tanginess when fresh, its customary
form when consumed as a table cheese.

The 'Pepato' variation with added peppers is quite spicy.