This is the only goat’s cheese in Italy granted DOP and DOC status. In March 2003 in Lyon, of all places, in the home of goats’ cheese par excellence, it even won first prize in the ‘chèvres fermières’ category. The name comes from the Latin word rubeola, from ruber, reddish, which is the colour of the rind when matured at length, and was the name used by the Romans to indicate the goats’ or sheep’s cheeses produced by the Celtic and Ligurian peoples.
In Roccaverano they still practise the ancient tradition of using local goats’ milk to make cheese. It is a simple, natural process. The milk is left to settle for a night, to raise the temperature, then the milk taken in the morning is mixed in: raw, full-fat goats’ milk. It is left for 24 hours to allow the curds to form then put into the moulds, salted and turned. It contains live cultures which last until it is eaten. It can be consumed after three or four days, or matured for two or three months. Delicate and fragrant with natural aromas of herbs – especially wild thyme – it is faintly tart, with a fine, grainy texture, and when eaten fresh, no rind.
The DOP regulations admit the use of cows’ milk to enable larger quantities to be produced. It can be eaten drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of pepper. The mature version can be used – with the authorisation of the relevant Consortium – to make ‘arbarelle’, basically preserved in oil, or wrapped in Muscatel grape must mixed with herbs like rosemary, bay or chilli pepper. There are also versions wrapped in vine-leaves, chestnut leaves or cabbage.