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Cheese from Italy, Campania

Caciobarile

A large stretched-curd cow cheese shaped like a small barrel and weighing 10–12 kg, from Savignano Irpino. Part of the milk is pasteurised at no more than 70 °C and the rest added raw; a starter acts for about 15 minutes before calf rennet, and the curd is broken to wheat-grain size, stretched and shaped by hand. The barrels are brined in 25 % brine about 12 hours per kg, dried about a week and ripened 4–6 months.

Fully documentedCheese4.2 months – 6.2 monthsPAT (traditional agri-food product of Campania)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo amounts are recorded. Each barrel weighs 10–12 kg.
Whole cow milk, part pasteurised and part rawPezzata Rossa and Bruna Alpina; the share of raw milk changes with the season and the weather[pat-sheet]
Starter (fermento)Left to act about 15 minutes before the rennet; the ONAF sheet calls it a whey starter[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Natural calf rennet[pat-sheet]
SaltAs a 25 % brine[pat-sheet]
Starterstarter (fermento), left about 15 minutes before the rennet

Total time across the recorded steps: 4.2 months – 6.2 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
up to 70 °C

What changes: Part of the milk is pasteurised and mixed with the raw rest

Step 1 of 9
Pasteurise part of the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 70 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus
Streptococcus
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

A large stretched-curd cow cheese shaped like a small barrel and weighing 10–12 kg, from Savignano Irpino. Part of the milk is pasteurised at no more than 70 °C and the rest added raw; a starter acts for about 15 minutes before calf rennet, and the curd is broken to wheat-grain size, stretched and shaped by hand. The barrels are brined in 25 % brine about 12 hours per kg, dried about a week and ripened 4–6 months. Made in 9 steps over 4.2 months – 6.2 months. The longest step, ripen in misted cells, takes 4–6 months (Regione Campania). Salt is 25 % (Regione Campania). In a related cheese, Apulian Caciocavallo made with natural whey starter (four dairies, one standardised protocol), Lactobacillus dominated at the start of ripening, and Streptococcus was associated with the starter in two dairies does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step4–6 monthsReported[pat-sheet]Ripen in misted cells
Temperatureup to 70 °CReported[pat-sheet]Pasteurise part of the milk
Salt25 %Reported[pat-sheet]Brine

What makes this one different

It is shaped like a powder or liqueur barrel and weighs 10–12 kg. It is made from a blend of pasteurised and raw milk whose share changes with the season.

Size
10–12 kg; barrel shape
Sale
Sold whole or vacuum-packed in quarters

Related ferments

Safety

Part of the milk is pasteurised at no more than 70 °C and the rest is added raw; the cheese ripens 4–6 months before sale.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Local dairies began making caciobarile in the early 1970s. It is listed in the 23rd list of traditional agri-food products of Campania.

  1. [vacca2024] Vacca M, Celano G, Serale N, Costantino G, Calabrese FM, Calasso M, De Angelis M (2024), Dynamic microbial and metabolic changes during Apulian Caciocavallo cheesemaking and ripening produced according to a standardized protocol, Journal of Dairy Science (abstract)paper
  2. [pat-sheet] Regione Campania, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, Caciobarile (agricoltura.regione.campania.it/tipici/tradizionali/caciobarile.html)gov
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF, Caciobarile, technical sheet (PAT Campania; some steps taken from a similar local cheese)web