Su Casu In Filixi 0 Comments

Su Casu in Filixi "fern cheese", is a fresh curd from whole and raw sheep or goat's milk, which takes its name from the leaves of the silk fern (Polystichum setiferum) which are used to scent it. 

It is a cheese that embodies the Sardinian culture coming from ancient times, when waste was considered a sin and the scarcity of food made it obligatory to use everything. In fact, this cheese is made with the last milk that is drained, filtered and poured into the "su caddàrgiu", a container in which the kid or lamb rennet is melted and made it coagulate. After about half an hour a white curd solidifies. Meanwhile, on a linen cloth, inside a mould, is placed a base of healthy mountain ferns, without parasites or other phytopathology, cut, washed and let dry.

Once the curd is ready, thin layers of it are collected with a holed ladle. the "trudda pertunta", and placed on the ferns, then covered by another layer of ferns and so on for 4 or 5 layers until the mould is filled. With the last layer of ferns, the cloth is folded, tied at the ends, and it is hung to let the whey drip. Su Casu in Filixi has a delicate milky taste with herbaceous scents given by the pasturage and the ferns. After about two hours the cheese can be eaten, and lasts a couple of days till it turns sour. Nowadays its life can be prolonged if stored in the refrigerator.

It is produced in Barbagia in Seulo and also in Esterzili, in Seui and Ussassai, in Villagrande and Olzai. Before 1951, the breeding of native sheep and goats was relegated to the mountain areas of the island. For shepherds, nomads, cheese production was seasonal in winter and part of spring. With the last milk, various types of fresh cheese was produced including, between June and July, Su Casu in Filixi. This product, according to oral tradition, has always existed. Today Su Casu in Filixi produces no more than 3 quintals a year of finished product and it is not found on the market because it is produced only for personal consumption or is offered as a gift.

It is a cheese whose existence unfortunately risks to end due to the fact that it is difficult to turn it into a market product due to the presence of the silk fern which, although waterproof, is considered toxic. In Seulo, however, since some years now, the work of protection and rediscovery of the product of the Ecomuseum and the Su Scusorgiu Cultural Association has been organising an event made up of seminars, participatory workshops and excursions on pastoral environments, organised over two days in the second half of July.

Su Casu in Filixi is a Traditional PAT Agri-food Product of Sardinia. Traditional products such as Su Casu in Filixi collected in the Ark of Taste belong to the communities that have preserved them over time. Thanks to the commitment of the network that Slow Food has carried out throughout the world, they have been traced and reported, with the aim of preserving them and spreading knowledge about them, for non-commercial purposes, without modifying their content and citing the source, but only for purposes consistent with the Slow Food philosophy.

“Legend has it that an Arab trader travelled through the desert with milk in a pouch. The mixed action of the heat, the enzymes in the bag and the movement transformed the milk into "cheese", acidifying it. Thus cheese was born." (from the web)

Written by Daniela Toti