Honey and dairy

Jonica goat

Jonica goat: milk from a Salento breed that is holding on

White-coated, with long drooping ears inherited from Maltese goats, the Jonica has grazed the old Terra d'Otranto for centuries. Only about a hundred animals remain, kept by a handful of Slow Food Presidium breeders among Mediterranean scrub and olive groves, the kids weaned on their mothers. Its milk follows the seasons, becoming ricotta, cacioricotta and other cheeses.

• Spring brings fresh, strong and marzotica ricotta; summer brings cacioricotta
• The rest of the year: cheeses to eat fresh or to grate
• Flocks graze for most of the year and breed naturally, following traditional practice

How to enjoy it. Seek out its dairy by season: creamy, sharply piquant ricotta forte for spreading, and cacioricotta, fresh or aged, also used to dress orecchiette in tomato sauce. Every taste helps keep the breed alive.

Production areas

Apulia

The full story, sources and places on apulica.com →