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Cheese from Italy, Campania, province of Benevento, Castelfranco in Miscano and nearby villages of the Miscano valley

Caciocavallo di CastelfrancoCaciocavallo di Castelfranco in Miscano

Caciocavallo di Castelfranco is a round caciocavallo with a small head from Castelfranco in Miscano, made from the milk of Brown cows. Its curd ripens under boiling scotta, the whey left after making ricotta, and the vat and wooden tubs are not washed between makes, so the soured whey left on them works as a rough whey starter. It is stretched by hand, brined for a few hours and aged from three months to two years.

Fully documentedCheese3 months – 2 yearsCampania traditional food product (PAT)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo fixed amounts. ONAF notes that a piece of about 1.2 kg of stretched curd makes a fresh cheese of 1 kg.
Whole cow milk from local herdsBrown cows kept in barns or at pasture; raw milk in the regional sheet[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Whey starter left from the previous makeSoured whey left in the unwashed vat and wooden tubs[pat-group][onaf-sheet]
Rennet pasteCommercial rennet paste in the regional sheet; lamb rennet paste in the ONAF sheet[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
ScottaBoiling whey left over from ricotta making, poured on the curd to ripen it[pat-group][onaf-sheet]
Salt, as brine[pat-sheet]
Starterrough whey starter from vats and wooden tubs that are not washed between makes

Total time across the recorded steps: 3 months – 2 years

Start
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36–37 °C

What changes: Whey starter and rennet paste go into raw milk warmed to 36–37 °C

Step 1 of 7
Warm the milk with starter and rennet
Time
25–30 min
Reported
Temperature
36–37 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk goes into the cauldron, is mixed with the whey starter and the rennet paste and is brought to setting temperature.

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 Castelfranco is a round caciocavallo with a small head from Castelfranco in Miscano, made from the milk of Brown cows. Its curd ripens under boiling scotta, the whey left after making ricotta, and the vat and wooden tubs are not washed between makes, so the soured whey left on them works as a rough whey starter. It is stretched by hand, brined for a few hours and aged from three months to two years. Made in 7 steps over 3 months – 2 years. The longest step, hang in pairs and ripen, takes 3 months – 2 years (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…).

Key numbers
Main step3 months – 2 yearsReported[onaf-sheet]Hang in pairs and ripen
Temperature36–37 °CReported[pat-sheet]Warm the milk with starter and rennet

What makes this one different

Two things set it apart in the regional sheets. The curd ripens under boiling scotta, the whey left after ricotta, and the unwashed vat and wooden tubs carry a rough whey starter from one make to the next.

Rind
Clean, smooth, pale to deeper straw; thin to slightly thick
Size
1.0–3.0 kg; nearly round with a small head
Season
Made all year; spring milk from cows at pasture is prized

Related ferments

Safety

The regional notes name raw milk, tinned copper vats and wooden tools as the risks, with Staphylococcus aureus, high bacterial counts and somatic cells as the problems of raw milk. They are handled by testing the milk, good hygiene and discarding faulty cheeses. Where the milk is raw, ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat such a cheese, because of Listeria, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli.

Hazards the sources name: Staphylococcus aureus, named with high total counts and somatic cells as the risk of using raw milk.

History and sources

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

The Regio Tratturo Pescasseroli–Candela, a main transhumance track, crossed the area, and grazing rights were once paid in cheese and caciocavallo. Older herds were white Podolica and Marchigiana cattle; Brown and Red Pied cows are kept today.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Campania, Prodotti tradizionali, Caciocavallo di Castelfranco (updated 7 June 2006; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [pat-group] 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 Castelfranco cheese sheet, with the Regione Campania notesweb
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov