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Cheese from Italy, Sicily, province of Trapani, the communes of Calatafimi and Vita

Caciotta degli Elimi

Caciotta degli Elimi is a raw ewe's-milk cheese of 1–4 kg from Calatafimi and Vita, made from the milk of the local Valle del Belice sheep. The milk is set at 36 °C with lamb rennet paste, the curd is cooked to about 42 °C and broken to rice-grain size, and it rests a day in rush baskets before saturated brine. It ripens at least three months in cool cellars, where a fermentation can open small eyes in the paste.

Fully documentedCheese3.1 monthsSicily traditional food product (PAT), listed by D.M. 16 February 2018Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo fixed amounts. The regional sheet gives the temperatures and times; ONAF gives a brining time of about 12 hours per kilogram.
Raw whole sheep milkValle del Belice sheep, one or more milkings[pat-sheet][sic-pat2023]
Lamb rennet paste[pat-sheet][sic-pat2023]
Saturated brine[pat-sheet][sic-pat2023]

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.1 months

Start
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36 °C

What changes: Lamb rennet paste goes into raw ewe's milk at 36 °C

Step 1 of 5
Set the milk with lamb rennet
Time
30 min
Reported
Temperature
36 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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

Caciotta degli Elimi is a raw ewe's-milk cheese of 1–4 kg from Calatafimi and Vita, made from the milk of the local Valle del Belice sheep. The milk is set at 36 °C with lamb rennet paste, the curd is cooked to about 42 °C and broken to rice-grain size, and it rests a day in rush baskets before saturated brine. It ripens at least three months in cool cellars, where a fermentation can open small eyes in the paste. Made in 5 steps over 3.1 months. The longest step, ripen in the cellar, takes at least 3 months (Regione Siciliana 2018).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 monthsReported[pat-sheet][sic-pat2023]Ripen in the cellar
Temperature36 °CReported[pat-sheet][sic-pat2023]Set the milk with lamb rennet

What makes this one different

The regional sheet says a fermentation during ripening sets it apart from other Sicilian pecorini, and ONAF notes it can open small holes in the paste. The curd is cooked to about 42 °C and the name "caciotta" refers to its small size.

Rind
Thin, straw-yellow, smooth or marked by the rush baskets; coated with clear plastic for sale
Size
1.0–4.0 kg; cylinder with flat faces and a convex side
Season
Made mainly from February to October (ONAF)

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw ewe's milk. The regional sheet gives a ripening of at least three months in cool cellars; ONAF also describes a shorter make of 30–35 days in a cold room. 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

A local story says a Calatafimi shepherd family fled to Sardinia in the late 19th century and, on returning, mixed Sardinian and Sicilian cheesemaking into this cheese.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Siciliana, Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali (2018, D.M. 16 febbraio 2018), Caciotta degli Elimi (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), Caciotta degli Elimi cheese sheetweb
  3. [sic-pat2023] Regione Siciliana, Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali Regione Siciliana, compiled sheets (2023), entry 'Caciotta degli Elimi'gov
  4. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov