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Cheese from Italy, Basilicata, province of Potenza, the commune of Maratea

Caciocavallo di Massa di Maratea

Caciocavallo di Massa di Maratea is a white pasta filata cheese of about 1 kg from Maratea, made from raw milk of cows at pasture. The milk is soured with the previous day's whey and set at 35 °C, and the curd ripens for 3–4 hours under a wool blanket before it is stretched. It is eaten within a few days or aged up to two months.

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

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe regional sheet gives no amounts; it fixes temperatures and times, and a brining time of 7–8 hours per kilogram of cheese.
Raw whole cow milkFiltered; from cows at pasture[pat-sheet]
Whey from the previous day's make[pat-sheet]
RennetCalf rennet in the ONAF sheet[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Brine (salimura)[pat-sheet]
Startersour whey from the previous day's make

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactococcus lactisS. thermophilusEnterococcus faeciumStreptococcus35 °C

What changes: The previous day's whey goes into the milk, then rennet at 35 °C

Step 1 of 7
Add old whey and rennet
Time
Not documented
Temperature
35 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
S. thermophilus
Enterococcus faecium
Streptococcus

The filtered milk is mixed with the previous day's whey and heated before the rennet.

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 Massa di Maratea is a white pasta filata cheese of about 1 kg from Maratea, made from raw milk of cows at pasture. The milk is soured with the previous day's whey and set at 35 °C, and the curd ripens for 3–4 hours under a wool blanket before it is stretched. It is eaten within a few days or aged up to two months. Made in 7 steps over 2 months. The longest step, dry and keep, takes up to 2 months (Regione Basilicata (ALSIA)). In a related product, the natural whey starter of cow's milk used for caciocavallo in two Campania dairies (a 2022 study; this cheese's own starter was not tested), culture found Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus and Enterococcus faecium, and sequencing found mostly Streptococcus (read as S. salivarius) with some Lactococcus lactis does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepup to 2 monthsReported[pat-sheet]Dry and keep
Temperature35 °CReported[pat-sheet]Add old whey and rennet

What makes this one different

It is a fresh caciocavallo, eaten within days or at most two months old, where Caciocavallo Podolico of the same region is aged for months. The curd is broken with the fire off to keep it soft and ripens under a wool blanket.

Rind
None or thin; smooth, white
Size
About 1 kg; Ø 8–10 cm, length 14–16 cm
Season
Made all year; spring milk from cows on fresh grass is prized (ONAF)

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk and eaten within a few days or aged up to two months. CDC advises pregnant women, adults over 65 and people with weak immunity to avoid cheese made from raw milk.

History and sources

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

ONAF reports it is widely known in the area and has been made for at least 25 years, from testimony collected locally.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Basilicata (ALSIA), Caciocavallo di Massa di Maratea traditional product sheet (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), Caciocavallo di Massa di Maratea cheese sheetweb
  3. [foods2022-nws] Marasco R., Gazzillo M., Campolattano N., Sacco M., Muscariello L. (2022), Isolation and Identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Natural Whey Cultures of Buffalo and Cow Milk, Foods 11(2):233 (natural whey starters from two artisanal dairies in Campania)paper
  4. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov