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Local products

Casale Roccolo

At the northern summit of Parco della Pineta di Appiano Gentile e Tradate stands the small town of Binago. This is home to the small family-run organic farm of Fabio Attilio Bulgheroni, his father and his aunt. It is named Casale Roccolo, and is where, after years of breeding livestock of various kinds, they decided in 2006 to turn what had been a passion for them into a full-time business. That is to say, the production of organic goat cheeses, while rearing the animals with the greatest respect for their own natural life cycle, for their diet, and for the extraordinary cheeses themselves that end up on the plates of all those who enjoy them. The family breeds chamois goats from the Alps, which generally produce milk from March to November, the month when they naturally couple again. The nanny goats are therefore pregnant during the months from November to March, a period during which there is no milk available. In intensive farming, things are very different, as the animals are treated with hormones so that they will produce milk all year round.

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Their diet at the farm also consists of certified organic food, with the Casale Roccolo goats fed on second-cut hay, their favourite as it is richer, softer and finer. They also eat alfalfa, that adds greater flavour to the cheese, (something of a family secret), as well as goat feed. In intensive farming goats will yield about 4 litres of milk per head, and the animals are slaughtered after 4 or 5 years. The goats of Casale Roccolo produce an average of two and a half litres each, and live up to 10 years.

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All the cheeses are made using raw milk, providing 15 varieties ranging from fresh through to mature, as well as ricotta, yoghurt and puddings. In addition to the company store, their products are sold at Como’s indoor market, the Mercato Coperto, at the organic market in Rebbio and can be found in restaurants through their collaborations with local chefs. In 2020 important recognition arrived in the form of a World Cheese Award, which recognised their Gubet as one of the sixteen best cheeses in the world.