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Cheese from Italy, Campania, the buffalo mozzarella provinces of Napoli, Salerno and Caserta

Caciocavallo di bufala

Caciocavallo di bufala is the classic Campanian caciocavallo made with raw buffalo milk instead of cow's milk, in the same provinces as buffalo mozzarella. Lamb rennet, with a whey starter if one is used, sets the milk, the curd sours for about a day, and it is stretched in water at 94 °C. The pear-shaped cheeses are brined, sometimes smoked, and ripened hung in pairs for 60 days to over a year.

Fully documentedCheese2 monthsCampania traditional food product (PAT)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo fixed amounts are given. The regional sheet sets the milk and the ageing; the ONAF sheet gives the temperatures and times for one traditional make.
Raw whole buffalo milkEvening milk cooled to 4 °C, mixed with the morning milk[onaf-sheet]
Whey starterWhey from the previous day's make; the sheet lists it as optional[onaf-sheet]
Lamb rennet[onaf-sheet]
Salt, as brine[onaf-sheet]
Wood or natural straw smokeOnly for the smoked type[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Starterwhey from the previous day's make, added if used

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countStreptococcusLactobacillus38–39 °C

What changes: Lamb rennet goes into the warm buffalo milk, which sets in about an hour

Step 1 of 7
Mix the milkings, add rennet and any starter
Time
1 h
Reported
Temperature
38–39 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Streptococcus
Lactobacillus
Lactic acid bacteria

The two milkings are mixed and filtered through cloth, then warmed with lamb rennet and, if used, the whey starter.

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

Caciocavallo di bufala is the classic Campanian caciocavallo made with raw buffalo milk instead of cow's milk, in the same provinces as buffalo mozzarella. Lamb rennet, with a whey starter if one is used, sets the milk, the curd sours for about a day, and it is stretched in water at 94 °C. The pear-shaped cheeses are brined, sometimes smoked, and ripened hung in pairs for 60 days to over a year. Made in 7 steps over 2 months. The longest step, hang in pairs and ripen, takes at least 2 months (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…). In a related cheese, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO made with natural whey starter (two dairies), Streptococcus and Lactobacillus formed the core of every sample except the raw milk does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsReported[onaf-sheet][pat-sheet]Hang in pairs and ripen
Temperature38–39 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Mix the milkings, add rennet and any starter

What makes this one different

It follows the classic caciocavallo method but uses buffalo milk, which gives a fattier cheese. The regional sheet notes that the buffalo cheese is aged longer and can be smoked.

Rind
Clean, smooth, white to straw (ochre if smoked); mould spots on aged cheese
Size
1.5–4.0 kg
Season
November to March (ONAF)

Related ferments

Variants

  • SemplicePlain; rind white to straw yellow.
  • AffumicatoSmoked over wood or natural straw; firmer, ochre rind and a smoky aroma.

Safety

Made from raw buffalo milk. The ONAF sheet says the region did not publish its food-safety notes for this cheese. It gives stretching in water at 94 °C and ageing at least 60 days as process steps, not as safety limits. Ageing alone does not make raw-milk cheese safe. The US FDA says 60 days may not eliminate or adequately reduce E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in raw-milk cheese. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheeses other than pressed cooked cheeses such as Gruyère or Comté, because of Listeria, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet records it as made in the buffalo mozzarella provinces by the usual caciocavallo method; ONAF reports it has been made in the area for at least 25 years.

  1. [levante2023] Levante A, Bertani G, Marrella M, Mucchetti G, Bernini V, Lazzi C, Neviani E (2023), The microbiota of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO cheese, a study across the manufacturing process, Frontiers in Microbiology 14:1196879 (abstract)paper
  2. [pat-sheet] Regione Campania, Prodotti tradizionali, Caciocavallo affumicato, del Matese, di bufala, Podolico, di Castelfranco (updated 13 March 2015; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), Caciocavallo di bufala cheese sheetweb
  4. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov
  5. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov