Musulupu cheese

Traditional cheese with a greek-albanian origin, the musulupu or musulucu is produced from March to September in the villages of Locride area, on the eastern side of the Aspromonte massif, in the province of Reggio Calabria. According to an ancient tradition the Musulupu nickname derives from the greek language spoken in ancient times in this area, with the meaning of "wolf bites".

Typical of this cheese-making process are the "musulupare": wooden molds into which the milk clot was placed. These can take different female forms, such as teats or women's profile.
The musulupare are hand-carved and take inspiration from the Mother Earth cult, which was worshiped by the greek-orthodox culture: according to popular belief, each year farmers could get a good harvest and good products, such as cheese.
The Musulupu is obtained from sheep and goats milk raised on pasture. It is a fresh cheese, no seasoning, lasts a few days and is eaten with seasonal vegetables, grated on pasta or as a basic ingredient for traditional sweets.