Wandering among the dairy shops of the Sorrento Peninsula, we came across a funny-shaped cheese that looks like a newborn wrapped in swaddling clothes. It is called bebè di Sorrento and it is one of the youngest products of Campania's cheesemaking tradition. Here is what we know, with the caution a little-documented product deserves.
What it is
The bebè di Sorrento is included in the list of Traditional Agri-Food Products (PAT) of the Campania Region, in the cheese category. The regional profile describes it as a cow's milk cheese, semi-cooked and stretched-curd, pale in colour. The name comes from its shape, which recalls a swaddled baby.
A close relative of caciocavallo
The production technique is very similar to that of caciocavallo: the same family of stretched-curd cheeses. The main difference lies in the ageing, which is much shorter. The result is a cheese with a delicate flavour, sweeter and less assertive than aged caciocavallo. We found it pleasant for precisely this reason: an "easy" cheese, suitable even for those who don't like the strong flavours of more mature cheeses.
A recent product
Unlike many PAT products with centuries of history, the bebè is a recent creation: according to the regional profile it was born in recent decades to offer the peninsula's many tourists a sweeter version of caciocavallo. We think it is a fine example of how a living cheesemaking tradition can also invent: the technique is old, while the shape and taste are designed for today.
A word of caution: apart from the Region's profile and the ONAF profile, which repeats the same information, we have not found reliable sources on the bebè's weight, standard size, date of birth or "inventor". That is why we are not giving you figures we cannot verify.
A land of milk
The bebè did not come out of nowhere. The Sorrento Peninsula and the Lattari Mountains have a long tradition of cattle farming and stretched-curd cheeses: this is where Provolone del Monaco DOP comes from, and in the local dairies fior di latte is a staple. The bebè fits into this tradition as a "little brother" meant to be eaten young.
How to enjoy it? We recommend simply trying it sliced, with bread and perhaps some seasonal vegetables, to appreciate its sweetness.
Where to taste it and what is nearby
You will find it in the dairies and local produce shops of Sorrento and nearby towns such as Sant'Agnello, Piano di Sorrento and Vico Equense. To explore the flavours of the area, read Sorrento: what to see, our profile of Provolone del Monaco DOP and the one on Sorrento oranges. For the full picture of the region's certified products there is our guide to Campania's DOP and IGP products.
Photo at top (Sorrento): Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Read also: Uva cornicella
