The Nera Verzasca, also known as the Nera di Verzasca or Verzaschese, is a Swiss

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

of black

domestic goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the family Bo ...

from the Valle Verzasca, in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

in southern Switzerland, from which it takes its name. It is raised in that area and in the

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

Como Como (, ; , or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Nestled at the southwestern branch of the picturesque Lake Como, the city is a renowned tourist destination, ce ...

Varese Varese ( , ; or ; ; ; archaic ) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 was 80,559. It is the capital of the Province of Varese. The hinterland or exurban part ...

and Verbano Cusio Ossola in northern

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, in the north of Italy.

History

The Verzaschese originates in the Valle Verzasca, in the

in southern Switzerland, from which it takes its name. In Italy it is one of the forty-three autochthonous goat breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the

Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia The Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, or roughly "national association of Sheep farming, pastoralists", is the Italian national body responsible for the administration of sheep- and goat-breeding. It maintains the herd books for more th ...

, the Italian national association of sheep- and goat-breeders. In Switzerland the Nera Verzasca is among the endangered breeds for which a

herd-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders wh ...

is kept by the Schweizerischer Ziegenzuchtverband or Federazione svizzera d'allevamento caprino, the Swiss federation of cantonal goat breeders' associations. In 2010 the total population in the two countries was , of which , or about 63%, were in Italy. At the end of 2013 the registered population in Italy was variously reported as and as , and that in Switzerland was .

Use

The average

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

yield per lactation of the Nera Verzasca was measured in 2003 at litres for

primiparous In biology and medicine, gravidity and parity are the number of times a female has been pregnant (gravidity) and carried the pregnancies to a viable gestational age (parity). These two terms are usually coupled, sometimes with additional terms, t ...

, litres for secondiparous, and litres for

pluriparous In biology and medicine, gravidity and parity are the number of times a female has been pregnant (gravidity) and carried the pregnancies to a viable gestational age (parity). These two terms are usually coupled, sometimes with additional terms, t ...

, nannies; a study in 2008–2010 found an average yield of litres in 208 days, with an average of 3.50%

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

and 3.06%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

. In Italy the milk is used to make

caprino Caprino may refer to: * Caprino cheese, a type of Italian goat cheeses In places: * Caprino Bergamasco, a municipality in the Italian region of Lombardy * Caprino Veronese, a municipality in the Italian region Veneto * Caprino, Switzerland, a quar ...

cheeses such as Formaggella del Luinese, which has DOP status, while in Switzerland much of it is made into Büscion, a fresh goat's-milk cheese;

ricotta Ricotta () is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein h ...

is made in both areas. Kids are slaughtered at an average age of 41 days, at an average weight of .

References

Goat breeds Dairy goat breeds Goat breeds originating in Italy Goat breeds originating in Switzerland Meat goat breeds {{bots, deny=Citation bot