And here we are in the heart of the dairy. This is where the magic happens, but it all begins with strict punctuality.

In our barns, milking takes place twice a day, morning and evening, always at the same time: around 5.30–6.00. No exceptions, Christmas, Easter, 365 days a year. As soon as it is milked, the milk is stored in traditional steel cans. After every single milking, our two small lorries make the rounds of all the barns to collect the cans and bring them here to the dairy, where they are emptied.

When the milk arrives at the dairy, several times a month, it is inspected – strictly unannounced – with technicians taking a sample from every single farmer to analyse it in the laboratory. They check for quality factors, such as fat and casein, but above all for hygiene factors, such as bacterial count and somatic cell count.

This is a crucial moment for our members: these analyses assign a score, and based on this, the milk is assigned a different value. Those who produce milk of a higher quality and hygiene standard receive a higher payment. This is the quality milk payment scheme: a continuous incentive that encourages our farmers to constantly improve, to prioritise hygiene and animal welfare. When you taste our cheeses, you will know that there is complete transparency behind them.

The milk that arrives in the morning is fresh, whole milk, and goes straight into the vats to make cheese. The evening milk, on the other hand, takes a different route: it is poured into these refrigerated tanks that you can see here. It rests in the cool overnight, and a natural process takes place: the cream, being lighter, rises spontaneously to the surface.

The following morning, that cream is gently ‘skimmed off’. The milk left behind, now partially skimmed, is combined with the whole milk from that morning to create the perfect base for our Trentingrana.

And what do we do with the cream we’ve skimmed off? Nothing should go to waste. It’s used to make butter in a machine that, through continuous, vigorous movements, churns it until the fat separates from the liquid, the buttermilk.

It’s time to take another step forward and see how this milk comes into contact with the cheesemaker’s hands.