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Cheese from Italy, Tuscany, province of Grosseto, the Maremma, above all Sorano and Manciano

Caciotta di pecora

This Maremma caciotta is a soft, sweet ewe's-milk cheese of about 1.2 kg, made from pasteurised milk of flocks kept at pasture. ONAF describes a milk starter, setting at 36–38 °C with calf rennet, a walnut-sized cut and a half-cook to 40 °C. After brining it ripens for 20–40 days.

Fully documentedCheese20 days – 40 daysTuscany traditional food product (PAT)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo fixed amounts are given. The regional sheet estimates about 5,000 quintals a year from the area's dairies.
Whole sheep milk, pasteurised[pat-sheet]
Milk starter (latto-innesto)[onaf-sheet]
Liquid calf rennet[onaf-sheet]
Salt, as brine[onaf-sheet]
Startermilk starter (latto-innesto)

Total time across the recorded steps: 20 days – 40 days

Start
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What changes: The ewe's milk is pasteurised before cheesemaking

Step 1 of 7
Pasteurise the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
Lactococcus

The regional sheet says the milk is pasteurised before cheesemaking.

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 Maremma caciotta is a soft, sweet ewe's-milk cheese of about 1.2 kg, made from pasteurised milk of flocks kept at pasture. ONAF describes a milk starter, setting at 36–38 °C with calf rennet, a walnut-sized cut and a half-cook to 40 °C. After brining it ripens for 20–40 days. Made in 7 steps over 20 days – 40 days. The longest step, ripen, takes 20–40 days (Regione Toscana (ARSIA)). Lactococcus lactis, the selected autochthonous starter of Pecorino Toscano PDO from a Roccastrada dairy (a related Tuscan ewe's cheese made from milk pasteurised at 73 C for 5 s and ripened about 4 months): Lactococcus made up 98.3 % of the active bacterial profile and mesophilic lactococci counted 8.4 log CFU/g does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step20–40 daysReported[pat-sheet]Ripen
Temperature36–38 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Add starter and rennet

What makes this one different

It is a young, soft ewe's caciotta made from pasteurised milk with a milk starter, half-cooked to 40 °C and ripened only 20–40 days.

Rind
Thin, soft, smooth, pale straw (deeper with age)
Size
About 1.2 kg; small to medium cylinder with a convex side
Composition
55% fat in dry matter; 46% water (ONAF)

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is pasteurised and the cheese ripens 20–40 days.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet credits its character to milk from flocks at pasture and skilled cheesemakers. Most of it is sold elsewhere in Italy through wholesalers.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Toscana (ARSIA), Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, Caciotta di pecora (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), Caciotta di pecora cheese sheetweb
  3. [depasquale2016] De Pasquale I, Di Cagno R, Buchin S, De Angelis M, Gobbetti M. 2016, Spatial Distribution of the Metabolically Active Microbiota within Italian PDO Ewes' Milk Cheeses, PLoS ONE, e0153213 (Pecorino Toscano PDO from a Roccastrada dairy, a related Tuscan ewe's cheese, not this cheese)paper
  4. [pat-list-tosc] Ministero delle politiche agricole, Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali (art. 12, comma 1, L. 12 dicembre 2016 n. 238), Allegato I, section Regione Toscana (copy hosted by InformaCibo)gov