ABSTRACT

The origin of Fiore Sardo cheese, together with the culture that produced it, is lost in prehistory. It has been hypothesized that the name “Fiore Sardo” originated from the plant rennet historically used for its manufacturing. In particular, it seems that the “owers of wild artichokes (Cynara cardunculus L.), soaked with vinegar and salt, were used in the ancient production of Fiore Sardo: artichoke contains the cinarase enzyme, which is able to coagulate milk. Moreover, the “ower that in the past was sculpted on the bottom of the wooden molds and the “ower present nowadays in the Fiore Sardo logo adopted by the Consortium of producers seem to support this hypothesis. By the way, it should be mentioned that there is not a general agreement on this, and the origin of the name “Fiore Sardo” is currently still uncertain.