As promised, here’s some info about cheese:
Casa del Formaggio Sant'Anna di Dipasquale: (THE cheese house). Definitely one of the best places to buy cheese in Ragusa
I know they sell one of the best “Ragusano DOP” cheese in the area, and "Pecorino Siciliano" (made with sheep milk). Also I suggest you try one of the wine spreads they sell that you can eat with the cheese. I tried the Zibibbo and Pasito wine spreads (Zibibbo and Pasito are desert wines from Sicily).
Casa del Formaggio Sant'Anna di Dipasquale
Corso Italia 387, Ragusa - Tel: 0932 227485
The Azienda Occhipinti is is a rural farm that make different types of cheese, they might show you how they make their cheese if you call them in advance and ask when it would be best to come. I don’t believe they have anything organised like a tour or so, but possibly they will show you around anyway. They might not speak English though.
Azienda Agro-zootecnica Giuseppe Occhipinti
Contrada San Giacomo - 97100 Ragusa
Tel: 0932 231669
The Corfilac is a good place to see how cheese is made. Every 2 years the Corfilac organises a great event in Ragusa called Cheese Art, between June and July. The next one will be in 2008. They have cheese, wine and beer tasting and pairing, you can buy cheese, wine, salami and other related stuff. They have experts explaining the main features of different kinds of cheese from around the world and, of course, local ones. There’s also live music, plays, etc. Last year it was organised in the gardens of the beautiful Donnafugata Castle.
Corfilac Headquarters: S.P. 25 Km 5 Ragusa Mare 97100 Ragusa (on the street from Ragusa to Marina di Ragusa) Tel: +39 0932 660 411 • Cheese department: +39 0932 660 484/+39 0932 660 485. Call first for an appointment.
Another must while in Sicily is the Ricotta cheese. Ricotta is a fresh cheese made of sheep or cow’s milk. It’s name comes from the fact that it’s ingredients need to be cooked twice. In Sicily they have Italy’s most famous ricotta, and they use it in different ways: sweet ricotta (the ricotta cannoli are amazing here), dry ricotta (ricotta salata) used for pasta alla norma, or fresh ricotta with sun dried tomatos or alone. You can try it in any agriturismo or buy it in any supermarket, farm or cheese shop.
