Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Home

Cheese from Italy, Toscana

Caciotta stagionataMucchino

Whole cow milk is thermised at 68 °C, rested about 40 minutes and set with calf rennet at 36–38 °C. The curd is broken to hazelnut or maize-kernel size, drained in moulds, brined and aged at least 6 months on poplar boards. The rind is brushed, not washed, before sale.

Fully documentedCheese6 monthsTraditional 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 1.7–2.0 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]

Total time across the recorded steps: 6 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
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 is thermised at 68 °C, rested about 40 minutes and set with calf rennet at 36–38 °C. The curd is broken to hazelnut or maize-kernel size, drained in moulds, brined and aged at least 6 months on poplar boards. The rind is brushed, not washed, before sale. Made in 6 steps over 6 months. The longest step, age on poplar boards, takes at least 6 months (ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters)).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 6 monthsReported[onaf-sheet]Age on poplar boards
Temperature68 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Thermise and rest the milk

What makes this one different

The aged sister of Caciotta dolce, from the same farm and the same thermised milk. Its curd is cut smaller, it ages at least 6 months instead of at least 20 days, and its rind is brushed, so it turns hard, savoury and slightly chalky.

Size
Cylinder with flat faces and a straight or slightly convex side, 1.7–2.0 kg
Rind
Hard, wrinkled, straw-yellow, fairly thick; brushed before sale

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is thermised at 68 °C. The cheese is aged at least 6 months on poplar boards.

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 30 quintals a year, and the cheese has its own village fair on 25 April.

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 stagionata' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Caciotta stagionata'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