This is the story of Lara Tamborini, of the Azienda Agricola Oranami in Ponte Nizza. She founded her company four years ago to produce organic cheeses. Together with her sister Maria and her partner, they make every day cheese fom the milk of their own animals. Lara graduated as a nurse and decided to focus on organic farming. She and her sister took over her father’s farm to start producing cheese.
Among other things, they produce pizzocorno, which is a square cheese named after a small hamlet of Ponte Nizza: Pizzocorno. It is a cheese made from unpasteurised cow’s milk and aged for 40 days. It is a very local cheese used in recipes such as: pizzocorno risottos, pizzocorno focaccia or simply as antipasto with pears. They also make the following cheeses: toma, tomini caprini, ricotta, primosale, and montecorno, the latter two being made from a mix of cow and goat milk.
Not only they produce, but also do the sales directly. They serve their customers at the markets in Milan, Pavia, Voghera, … and some organic wholesalers also stock their Oranami cheeses.
Lara admits that it is very hard work, but this business is also very rewarding. “You have to have guts, passion and perseverance, otherwise you won’t succeed,” she explains.
Address: Azienda Agricola oranami, Frazione Pizzocorno 64, Ponte Nizza