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Cheese from Italy, Toscana

Caciotta dolceVacchino dolce

Whole cow milk from herds kept half-wild on high pastures is thermised at 68 °C, left to rest about 40 minutes and set with calf rennet at 36–38 °C. The curd is broken to walnut size, drained in moulds, brined and ripened at least 20 days on poplar boards. It is a young, sweet table cheese.

Fully documentedCheese20 daysTraditional food product (PAT, Toscana; listed in the Tuscany section of the national list)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe regional sheet gives temperatures and times but no batch size or rennet dose. Each cheese weighs 1.3–1.5 kg.
Whole cow milk from two milkings a dayMostly Friesian cows kept half-wild on high pastures, fed fresh grass and hay[onaf-sheet]
Calf liquid rennet[onaf-sheet]
Salt, as brine[onaf-sheet][pat-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 20 days

Start
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68 °C

What changes: The milk is heated to 68 °C, then rests in the kettle for about 40 minutes

Step 1 of 6
Thermise and rest the milk
Time
40 min
Reported
Temperature
68 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk rests in the same kettle until it cools to the setting temperature. Output: thermised whole milk.

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

Whole cow milk from herds kept half-wild on high pastures is thermised at 68 °C, left to rest about 40 minutes and set with calf rennet at 36–38 °C. The curd is broken to walnut size, drained in moulds, brined and ripened at least 20 days on poplar boards. It is a young, sweet table cheese. Made in 6 steps over 20 days. The longest step, ripen on poplar boards, takes at least 20 days (ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters)).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 20 daysReported[onaf-sheet]Ripen on poplar boards
Temperature68 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Thermise and rest the milk

What makes this one different

The young sister of Caciotta stagionata, made by the same farm from the same thermised milk. It is cut larger (walnut size), ripened for at least 20 days, against at least 6 months for the aged one, and stays soft and sweet.

Size
Cylinder with flat faces and a convex side, 1.3–1.5 kg
Rind
Thin, smooth, soft, straw-yellow

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is thermised at 68 °C and the cheese is eaten young, after at least 20 days.

History and sources

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

One farm at Melo in Cutigliano, said to be the highest farm in Tuscany, makes it. It produces about 100 quintals a year and sells most of it in Pistoia province. The cheese features at a village fair on 25 April and at a midsummer festival.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Toscana and ARSIA, traditional product sheet 'Caciotta dolce' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Caciotta dolce'web
  3. [pat-list] 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