Our daily cheese: cultural and social dimensions on cheese production in Alagoas/Brazil

Abstract

In the Território da Bacia Leiteira – TBL in Alagoas/Brazil, the elaboration of homemade cheeses and the maintenance of the know-how intrinsic to its production process make up the repertoire of territoriality appropriated and reproduced by small family farming. The aim of this article is to analyze the social and cultural dimensions of these foods, whose preservation is attributed to the women, referred to as guardians of the art of cheese making. The methodology was based in bibliographic and field research. At this stage, 51 homemade cheese factories were mapped: 50 units, which house the production of curd cheese, and an establishment that processes macururé cheese. The results of the research denote that the preservation of knowledge inherent to the elaboration of homemade cheeses configures mechanisms of territoriality appropriated by women. The challenges that pose to the maintenance of these activities presuppose the adoption of strategies that, although admit the processes of cultural resignification to agri-food, must be based on the appreciation of tradition and artisanal production.

Keywords: Homemade cheeses; women; tradition; resignification.