If they require winter rain for grass green-up, does this mean that the north side of Gran Canaria has a mediterranean climate, or do they get summer rains too? Are they able to make cheese in the dry season? My main question is really, whether or not they change their use of milk coagulants (ratios of types, quantities, etc) as the milk changes with the seasons? Or do the recipes and cheese making processes remain the same and the character of the cheeses vary with the seasons? Or both?
oh and one more side question. Are the reed racks used for aging the cheeses made of Canary reed? Is this the home, or at least namesake of the canary reed "Arunda," that we have filling riparian zones on the west coast of the US?
As always, thanks for your dedication to learning and sharing. May your flock always be full
Really cool to hear the thistle causes coagulation in the animals stomach to make nutrients more accessible. Does eating the cheese have a similar effect on our guts?
Great read Trevor!
Did you notice or see the use of any other parts of thistle plants, or was always parts of flowers? Probably has to do with enzymatic abundance, something which also plays a big role in traditional brewing across Africa and elsewhere (https://www.beer-studies.com/en/Fundamentals/Six-brewing-pathways/Pathway-4-plants).
Great to see that the local knowledge about environments are still alive!
If they require winter rain for grass green-up, does this mean that the north side of Gran Canaria has a mediterranean climate, or do they get summer rains too? Are they able to make cheese in the dry season? My main question is really, whether or not they change their use of milk coagulants (ratios of types, quantities, etc) as the milk changes with the seasons? Or do the recipes and cheese making processes remain the same and the character of the cheeses vary with the seasons? Or both?
oh and one more side question. Are the reed racks used for aging the cheeses made of Canary reed? Is this the home, or at least namesake of the canary reed "Arunda," that we have filling riparian zones on the west coast of the US?
As always, thanks for your dedication to learning and sharing. May your flock always be full
Really cool to hear the thistle causes coagulation in the animals stomach to make nutrients more accessible. Does eating the cheese have a similar effect on our guts?
Fascinating as usual! Tell me, when is the Nat Geo feature coming?