- [Narrator] How do I try and cover the breadth of traditional cheese making in Italy and Spain?

Impala's the boss?

- [Man] Yeah.

(speaking foreign language) - [Narrator] I like it that it's the woman cheese makers.

It's a mad dash of planes, trains, automobiles, and a boat to uncover buffalo, cow, sheep and goat milk cheeses.

(bongo beating) (goat bells ringing) (traditional instrumental music) - [Worker] Not working.

(liquid squirting fast) - [Narrator] Mom is the original boss?

- [Man] Yeah.

- [Narrator] Your mom was the cheese maker in the family.

[Man] Yeah.

- [Mom] (speaking foreign language) - She said she just decided almost on a whim to do it.

She said, you know, I'm here in this town, there's not much around, I had children.

I had to come up with something to do to not get depressed, so I decided to make cheese.

- Oh my gosh.

Did you ever imagine it would become this?

(speaking foreign language) (Narrator laughing) - [Narrator] How much did your mom teach you?

- Here in Catalonia, lost the traditional cheeses.

- So, the Garrotxa cheese is the beginning of bringing Catalonian cheese back.

- [Man] Yeah.

- Oh, I love that smell, every time.

Michelle who really helped me understand cheese for the first (beep) time, and I've done this show for five years.

Okay, so, the purpose of this process.

- Yeah, whatever type of cheese someone wants to make, if it's like some soft cheese, it's gonna be a large curd 'cause you want to keep the moisture inside it, and so that when it's finished you still feel that in the flavor.

- [Josep] This is like a fermentation.

- So, what we're seeing here with Josep's cheese and Garrotxa is this cutting process.

He's breaking it down because for his style to keep the drier cheese it needs to be smaller kernel, - [Cheese Expert] will be about a grain of corn.

- [Josep] We don't like very dry cheese, okay?

- Not too dry.

- The mold, it's very, very important in the Garrotxa cheese, okay?

And if the cheese is very dry, it's not good for the mold.

- [Cheese Expert] Okay, once they get grain, which they have right now, so now the only process of continuing to move everything is to separate the curds from the whey.

- Always separating those curds from the whey.

- I can't believe Little Miss Muffet was really so smart.

- I know, it finally comes full circle.

- [Josep] The cheese and the whey go to this table, we take the cheese and put it in the molds.

(spanish instrumental music) - [Narrator] Remember in part one where the Mora#* family does their vertical pressing?

Well, you see a different type of pressing here with Josep.

(machine whirring) Haha, cool.

Look at that.

- [Josep] And this is the yesterday cheeses.

- Wow.

It's ready to age it.

- [Cheese expert] So when I think of Garrotxa, the thing about Garrotxa that always characterized it from other aged goat cheeses, it's a little spritz of acidity in the finish and you can really feel the milk of the murcienago.

- [Narrator] I'm really happy to meet somebody who likes to drink it so much a I do (laughing).

(laughing) (speaking foreign language) - [Cheese Expert] Push hard.

You're supposed to finish it, careful.

(speaking foreign language) - You're supposed to finish it?

- When I look for cheese I look for the things I like, and I never like that strong animal flavor.

So this to me was perfect.

And there's a whole of people who who'll only eat the goat cheeses that I like because they too were afraid of goat cheese.

- Yeah.

- So I almost say that, the cheeses that I have are very much like introductions.

And then I have some that are more aged and kind of take you up the levels.

- One month, about 45 days.

Even the cats eat good cheese here.

- Oscar, as you'll find out, is unlike anybody else.

( laughing) You could see it just by My friends call me Mosto (speaking foreign language) It starts with Oscar, it really starts with, well, it started with the cheese.

- (sniffing) Is that what I'm smelling, part of it, or just smelling milk?

- Like that yogurty That's the texture you want, cream, yogurt, dense.

- [Narrator] After using gravity to separate those, oh so important curds and whey, Oscar's gonna show me how he hand molds his delicate goat cheeses.

- [Cheese Expert] So over here Anna's preparing the cheese ferments that going to make a fresh batch.

That's your cheese glove Just grab like a little bowl of cheese behind you - (speaking foreign language) (laughing) - [Cheese Expert] Say get dirty - I'm very good at that Its the whole point of my uh..career that's too dirty.

- Oh my gosh this is so cold - And then this is the best time to have finger nails.

(laughing) looks like he trying to - Push sides - Aw okay.

This is perfect of course This is nice and compact.

(speaking foreign language) - Si?

- I had a ton of chesse so far on this trip and of course in my lifetime but Michelle pointing out that acidity in this one has really helped expand my knowledge and appreciation for goat cheese.

Spanish cheese goes perfectly with one thing well two lots of things wine of course, but also marcona almonds.

- Were about to go learn about marcona almonds.

I suited up many times these women are amazing, I have no idea about what I'm about to go do so, - Its so cute - I know (laughing) - We call them the almond sisters for a reason - We are hanging out with the almond sisters.

First off there's two things I wanna do, first lets just point out how adorable you guys look, and this might be the most unflattering (sisters laughing) coat we had.

(laughing) What does the almond look like when it comes in?

Ah here we go and these are raw but blanched?

- Yes exactly The oil that's here is the most similar to the properties of olive oil, but its sunflower oil.

- [Female Worker] Yeah but the color is very important for us - Is the color of the oil and the almond?

- The color of the almond - The color of the almond is helping you adjust how you fry it because you want to maintain the right crunch.

That has to do a quick dry?

- [Female Worker] Yes, yes - [Narrator] And it goes up?

[Female Worker]in this line.

- So Then there going down what happens down here?

So it goes into this and gets turns into salt?

- Yeah - I never eating a almond like that - (laughing) really?

- I had more morcona but this is amazing - Yeah I know thank you (laughing) - Yes of course, de nada, it's amazing.

(Machinery and crunching nuts) (female speaking a foreign language) - Okay quickly this for me - Come on come on other - (laughing) - Great - A race now - Wow wow wow.

Good prediction.

- Its a I Love Lucy episode waiting to happen.

Oh no I made a mess finish finish I made a mess.

- Ah yeah.

It's okay.

(clapping) - Another sister almond (laughing) - I'll take it (instrumental music) - It's back to Italy as we head south to visit the last pecorino romano maker in roman country side, But first mama needs a rest.

(speaking foreign language) - This la varelo, the fish from Lake Como - Uh huh its beautiful so you can fish this lake?

- Yeah this fish - I'm excited about this croquette.

- Mmm - I want that with the fish right now.

(♪ Male church choir members singing) - I'm with the very owner Giuseppe.

He's the last maker of the pecorino romano here in the country side outside of Rome.

- (Woman) He doing free decorations - (laughing) - And he's saying nothing he was like is your mom beautiful?

I need to go out with her (speaking foreign language) - (laughing) this will be a fun day - (speaking foreign language) - Yeah very fun some time ago pecorino production moved to Sardinia.

So I imagine its takes a character this gravity to hold tight against modernization of time.

- This is the pecorino romano so they want to get a grain of rice they going to need your help, To help them take this curb and to mold it.

- Uh hmm I can I can help He seems like a tough boss but - (Woman) And all this gorgeous milk you see comes only from the country side of Rome.

- [Narrator] Uh hum - Which is very high in butter fat but they have a higher yield.

You notice how yellow the milk is?

- [Narrator] Yeah - [Woman] So remember where looking why the goats milk is so white?

- [Narrator] Uh hum.

- [Woman] Sheep's milk is yellow.

- Wow you can see it already coming together here.

- [Woman] Over two thousands years of history making this cheese.

- [Narrator] Look at that.

- So will stay forty minutes keep it pressing pressing - [Woman] Are you able to lift up forty kilos?

- [Narrator] Well see - (foreign choir singing) - (laughing) - I will ruin the cheese - To hard try this piece - Mmm.

I quit.

- (speaking foreign language) - (Woman) That's easy right?

- That's the worst - (foreign singing) - And we got our Serenay - (speaking foreign language) - They are aluminum.

These are all the milk cans If it doesn't have the sheep's head its not Pecorino Romano.

- [Narrator] And so already - So the first salting lasts for twelve days about because it has to really you know catch on hold on.

- Yeah - So the second salting will last for twenty or twenty-two days so each time they salt it will last for longer but they'll doing it slowly because they want the salt to gradually to absorbed into the cheese.

- Slowly penetrate right - If you salt to much to fast you block it on the outside, and you form more rind and when you have a cheese at the end it has lower value because you have to grate more of it.

- [Narrator] Hard?

- (speaking foreign language) - (laughing) - Ah - (speaking foreign language) - This is fourteen or fifteen months each - Ah Um (clapping) - You have the pecante part that tickles your tongue - Yeah - Cause it aged but do you feel the creaminess of the cheese?

- Uh hum - You going to see it's yellow Pecorino is usually white as these robes but its yellow because of the butter fat.

(knocking) Who is it la la ?

- Jorni - When your home cooking something like caths or pepe, which originated from this region seek the authentic Pecorino Romano.

- To create a dish that tells a delicious sweet story.

Remember this show is about where ingredients truly come from.

- Mmm..wow.

(foreign hip hop music) - [Narrator] We end were we started.

The buffalo festival.

I am tired it's been an incredible journey and we barely scratched the surface of cheese.

But how rad is all the techniques and traditions innovations and community are around the one ingredient of dairy.

I Hope this inspires yall to hit your local farmers market or local shop and buy something you never tried before and expand your love of cheese.

Buffalo cheese and buffalo meat at he party this is the end this the big celebration - I'm going to stuff my face now and hang out have a good time.

- That was pretty damn good