Sheep Meat
History
In the past, the use of sheep for the daily feeding of sheperds and less well-off classes was linked to the culture of transhumant herding. As a consequence, there are, in the whole area of the Park, ancient recipes and dishes handed down for generations, which provide sheep and lamb as raw material. Among these, sheep arrosticini represent the symbol of a land that manages to give, even in harsh and marginal conditions, a product of rare delicacy. Another symbol of traditional Abruzzo cuisine is represented by the sheep in the cottora. The cottora is the cauldron, a copper pot of the ancient shepherds, supported by a tripod and a chain with a hook over the wood fire. The recipe of the sheep "alla cottora" is closely linked to the pastoral traditions of the central Apennines. Cooking takes usually place outdoos and represents a fixed presence in some commemorations and celebrations of transhumance.
