Healthy food extends life. After all, the relationship of good nutrition with health has been known since the time of Hippocrates, also known for the phrase “make food your medicine.” In Sardinia this link is even stronger: in fact, in addition to the pristine environment and healthy lifestyle, it is food that plays a decisive role in the longevity of its inhabitants, especially those living between Ogliastra and part of Barbagia.

Researchers halfway around the world are convinced that the typical diet of Sardinian shepherds is the elixir of long life that enables so many men and women living in these parts of the island to reach the 100-year mark. Scholars such as Belgian demographer Michel Poulain and Sardinian Gianni Pes who spent a great deal of time in the small towns of the Ogliastra mountains interviewing the protagonists of Sardinian longevity.

Among foods, cheese occupies a prominent place, precisely because around this product revolved, yesterday as today, the life of the shepherd whose diet was also based on locally produced fresh foods, legumes and vegetables in quantity, strictly seasonal, and a good glass of red wine, preferably cannonau. The shepherd, who spent much of his time away from home, could also rely on foods obtained from local farms such as dairy products and meat, particularly sheep and goat.

The trump card for living a hundred years, however, seems to be just such a calibrated mix of sheep’s milk cheeses. So at least the University of Sassari researcher discovered. Luca Deiana. Not all cheeses have the same qualities: bearing the title of longevity food is first of all “su casu axedu”, also called shepherds’ breakfast. Of Nuragic origin, it is a particularly acidic curd made from goat’s or sheep’s milk that is produced mainly in Ogliastra, counted among the world’s five “Blue zones” along with Ikaria in Greece, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Loma Linda in California, and the island of Okinawa, Japan. There are dozens of companies producing casu axedu in this area of Sardinia. From Gairo to Urzulei, via Arzana and Villagrande. Just to name a few of the places symbolic of longevity.

PREPARATION – During the winter months the milk is heated to a temperature of about 35-37 degrees (in the summer the milk is processed at room temperature) then rennet (commercial calf rennet or kid or lamb rennet paste) and a tablespoon of whey stored from the previous curd is added. Coagulation takes about 10-15 minutes, while curd hardening takes 4-5 hours. As soon as in su caddargiu (copper cauldron) a trickle of whey surfaces, the curd is cut into irregular pieces weighing about 150-300 grams and allowed to rest for about 24 hours before being eaten.

Another cheese that can boast the title of “food of centenarians” is “su casu in filixi.” typical product of Seulo, a mountain village located in the Barbagia region of the same name. Of very ancient origin, it is a soft cheese on fern leaves and of unique goodness that has also been included in the national list of traditional food products of Sardinia (PAT). It is still made today by shepherds: the curd is laid precisely on fern leaves, which then cover it. Thus pressed it is allowed to drip to release the whey. And the ferns leave their imprint on the surfaces, a very ancient method of “printing on cheese.” Best eaten fresh, it has the tasty musky flavor of the plant’s leaves and the characteristic aroma of goat’s and sheep’s cheese.

In its form and preparation it holds, perfectly preserved, all its history. The goatherd, in fact, must wander constantly chasing his grazing beasts in the mountains still framed by primary forests and fern fields. His sheepfold has a prehistoric architecture of a single round room “su Pinnettu,” with a cone-shaped roof with beams of juniper or holm oak. Inside, trellises are created to store, smoke and season cheese. The roof on the outside is covered with branches, which ensure perfect coverage. In this context has its natural historical territoriality “su casu in filixi” produced by shepherds in the summertime and made with the help of ferns that give it its particular shape.

PREPARATION – Su casu in filixi” is made from summer milk in the period between June and August. The processing of this cheese begins with the milking of the goats or sheep. The milk obtained is filtered and poured into special cauldron where kid or lamb rennet is dissolved in it. After about half an hour, a white, consistent curd materializes. At this point, a linen or cotton cloth is placed in the molds and fern leaves are spread on the base. Using a perforated ladle, thin layers of curd are scooped out and laid in the mold. Another layer of fern and layer of curd and so for 4, 5 layers. The cloth is folded over, closed by tying it at the ends and hung to help the whey escape. A few hours of straining and the cheese is ready to be flaked.