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Cheese from Italy, Abruzzo

Caciocavallo abruzzese

A pear-shaped stretched-curd cheese of raw cow milk, filtered through a wooden vat that seeds it with lactic bacteria, then soured further with whey or milk starter at 36–38 °C and set with calf rennet in 20–30 minutes. The pea-sized curd ripens under whey at least 2 hours, is stretched in water at 80 °C, shaped and tied by hand, brined 12–20 hours, and hung in pairs over a pole to ripen from 60–70 days up to two years.

Fully documentedCheese3.7 months – 2.1 yearsPAT (traditional agri-food product of Abruzzo)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo amounts are recorded. Cheeses weigh 1–3 kg, never less than 1 kg.
Raw whole cow milkFriesian, Bruna Alpina, Pezzata Rossa or crosses; in some areas Marchigiana[pat-sheet]
Whey or milk starter from the previous makeAdds a thermophilic lactic flora[pat-sheet]
Calf rennetPaste or liquid, always calf; dosed by its strength and the milk's acidity[pat-sheet]
SaltAs a brine[pat-sheet]
String or raffiaTo tie the heads in pairs for hanging[pat-sheet]
Starternative flora from the wooden vat plus whey or milk starter (thermophilic lactic flora)

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.7 months – 2.1 years

Start
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What changes: Raw milk filtered through a wooden vat picks up the bacteria living in the wood

Step 1 of 8
Filter the milk through a wooden vat
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

The porous wood holds and passes on native starter bacteria every time. The milk is not pasteurised. Output: raw whole cow milk seeded with the vat's bacteria.

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 pear-shaped stretched-curd cheese of raw cow milk, filtered through a wooden vat that seeds it with lactic bacteria, then soured further with whey or milk starter at 36–38 °C and set with calf rennet in 20–30 minutes. The pea-sized curd ripens under whey at least 2 hours, is stretched in water at 80 °C, shaped and tied by hand, brined 12–20 hours, and hung in pairs over a pole to ripen from 60–70 days up to two years. Made in 8 steps over 3.7 months – 2.1 years. The longest step, ripen hanging, takes 3 months – 2 years (Regione Abruzzo) and runs at 10–15 °C (Regione Abruzzo).

Key numbers
Main step3 months – 2 yearsReported[pat-sheet]Ripen hanging
Temperature10–15 °CReported[pat-sheet]Ripen hanging

What makes this one different

The raw milk is filtered through a wooden vat that seeds it with its own bacteria, and the aroma shifts with the zone, season and pasture of the Abruzzo uplands. Each dairy ties the head in its own style.

Size
1–3 kg; pear shape, diameter varies
Feed
Fish meal, cabbage and fenugreek are banned from the cows' feed

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk; eaten no sooner than 60–70 days. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, young children and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheese.

History and sources

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

Teodoro De Caprariis described the method, including the wooden vats, in a publication of 13 September 1912. Wooden vats can no longer be used in industrial dairies but are still used for home caciocavallo.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Abruzzo, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, scheda Caciocavallo abruzzesegov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF, Caciocavallo abruzzese, technical sheet (PAT Abruzzo)web
  3. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov