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Cheese from Italy, Campania, province of Salerno, the communes of the Tanagro valley, above all Caggiano

Caciocavallo stagionato in grotta del TanagroCaciocavallo stagionato di grotta del Tanagro

This caciocavallo from the Tanagro valley is made from raw cow's milk, set at 38 °C with kid or lamb rennet. Its curd ripens in ricotta whey at about 50 °C spiked with about 10% soured whey (cizza), then is stretched in 80 °C water into pear shapes of 2.5–3 kg. After brining and 15 days of drying it goes into caves for at least three months, up to two years, and comes out covered in white mould.

Fully documentedCheese3.5 months – 2 yearsCampania traditional food product (PAT)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe regional sheet gives the rennet dose per 100 kg of milk, the cizza share and the brine strength; it sets no batch size.
Raw whole cow milk, evening and morning milkings[pat-sheet]
Kid or lamb rennet paste25 g per quintal (100 kg) of milkDissolved in warm water and filtered before it goes in; ONAF gives 25 g per hl[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
ScottaThe whey left after ricotta making[pat-sheet]
Cizzaabout 10% of the scottaWhey from earlier makes, left to sour at room temperature[pat-sheet]
Brine20–25% salt[pat-sheet]
Startercizza, whey from earlier makes soured at room temperature, added to the ripening scotta; kid or lamb rennet paste

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.5 months – 2 years

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria38 °C

What changes: Kid or lamb rennet, 25 g per 100 kg, goes into raw milk at 38 °C

Step 1 of 7
Warm the milk and add rennet
Time
1 h
Reported
Temperature
38 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid 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

This caciocavallo from the Tanagro valley is made from raw cow's milk, set at 38 °C with kid or lamb rennet. Its curd ripens in ricotta whey at about 50 °C spiked with about 10% soured whey (cizza), then is stretched in 80 °C water into pear shapes of 2.5–3 kg. After brining and 15 days of drying it goes into caves for at least three months, up to two years, and comes out covered in white mould. Made in 7 steps over 3.5 months – 2 years. The longest step, age in the cave, takes 3 months – 2 years (Regione Campania 2019) and runs at 15–18 °C (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…). Salt is 20–25 % (Regione Campania 2019). In related raw-milk Caciocavallo, Scamorza and Caciotta cheeses made with natural cultures (52 lots, two dairies), lactic acid bacteria whose predominant species switched between lots does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3 months – 2 yearsReported[pat-sheet]Age in the cave
Temperature15–18 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Age in the cave
Salt20–25 %Reported[pat-sheet]Rinse, cool and brine

What makes this one different

Its curd ripens in hot ricotta whey spiked with about 10% soured whey, and the shaped cheeses are dipped in acid whey before cooling. After brining they age at least three months in caves, where white mould covers them completely.

Rind
Clean, smooth, matt, pale straw; mould removed at the end of ageing
Size
2.5–3.0 kg
Season
Made all year; summer milk from cows at pasture gives the best cheese (ONAF)

Related ferments

Safety

The regional notes name raw milk, tinned 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. 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.

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 regional sheet says the method was used by all the massari of the area; dairy tools found in the Pertosa caves date cheesemaking there to the Bronze Age.

  1. [delmatto2021] Del Matto I, Rossi F, Iannitto G, Petrone D, Mastrodomenico MT, Alessiani A, Sacchini L, Amadoro C, Tucci P, Marino L (2021), Variability of the microbiota in traditional Caciocavallo, Scamorza and Caciotta cheeses manufactured with raw milk and natural cultures, International Journal of Dairy Technology 74(3) (abstract)paper
  2. [pat-sheet] Regione Campania, Prodotti tradizionali, Caciocavallo stagionato di grotta del Tanagro (updated 13 March 2019; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), Caciocavallo stagionato in grotta del Tanagro 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