Interview with Andrea Casula, owner of the cheese factory Val D’Apsa.

Casciotta from Urbino is a cheese already  known from Michelangelo times, which are its main characteristics?

Main characteristics of the Italian cheese Casciotta d’Urbino, known since the time of Michelangelo, are its particular mixing  of two types of milk: sheep and cow milk, in following percentage 70% sheep and 30% cow. This aspect  gives to Casciotta cheese a strong but delicate and sweet taste with only a 20 days  seasoning.

Casula family has been one of the first to produce PDO cheese in a traditional way, 40 years ago. How did you choose this territory?

Starting from the very beginning of our long story our family has always tried to stand out with PDO products  and flavoring ones.Few people know that Casciotta d’Urbino cheese is the only PDO Italian cheese with a mix of milks.

Milk is fresh and collected only at local stall, as per regulation. How the Montefeltro territory, (Marche region) influence your quality? And what about seasoning?

Milk is collected always fresh every 2 days  to maintain its quality, that’s the reason why the quality of our caciotta is so high. Marche Region territory and microclimate  allow  us to make a so unique product.

Montefeltro territory are also ideal for truffle to grow, Because of uncontaminated earth and passionated people working on it. What Marche region have that other region don’t?

Marche region are one of the region with the highest percentage of organic hearth  in Italy. So we stand out in protect  our territory at our best, and that’s why we produce unique products.

You have a modern and organized web site, and you also offer guided tours inside your cheese company, so transparency is a value for you? Can you explain to us how tradition and innovation go hand in hand in this territory?

Our company has always looked to innovation but at the same time , we have preserved our good traditions.Caseificio Val D’Apsa is completely self sufficient for what it concerns the energy  requirement. Every building has its photovoltaic system and heat pumps.Our waste materials (called scotta)is used to produce energy, so we have a virtuous recovery and we produce energy at the same time.