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Cheese from Italy, Campania

Caso maturo del Matese

Raw whole ewe milk is set with calf rennet at 35 °C, broken to hazelnut or corn size and pressed by hand into baskets. The dry-salted cheeses ripen about six months in stone huts at 8–15 °C, then are stacked in sealed, light-proof jars over olive oil and wild herbs for at least six more months, where they referment without air.

Fully documentedCheese12 monthsPAT (traditional food product, Campania)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give no amounts. Each cheese weighs 0.5–1.5 kg.
Raw whole ewe milkEvening and morning milkings of sheep grazed on mountain pasture[pat-maturo][onaf-maturo]
Liquid calf rennet[pat-maturo][onaf-maturo]
Medium-grain saltRubbed on the faces[pat-maturo][onaf-maturo]
Olive oilRubbed on the rind during ripening, and poured in the bottom of the jar[pat-maturo][onaf-maturo]
Wild herbsPut in the jar with the oil[pat-maturo][onaf-maturo]

Total time across the recorded steps: 12 months

Start
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35 °C

What changes: Calf rennet sets the raw ewe milk at 35 °C in about 30 minutes

Step 1 of 6
Set with calf rennet
Time
30 min
Reported
Temperature
35 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
gel
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

Raw whole ewe milk is set with calf rennet at 35 °C, broken to hazelnut or corn size and pressed by hand into baskets. The dry-salted cheeses ripen about six months in stone huts at 8–15 °C, then are stacked in sealed, light-proof jars over olive oil and wild herbs for at least six more months, where they referment without air. Made in 6 steps over 12 months. The longest step, ripen in the stone huts, takes at least 6 months (Regione Campania 2015) and runs at 8–15 °C (Regione Campania 2015).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 6 monthsReported[pat-maturo]Ripen in the stone huts
Temperature8–15 °CReported[pat-maturo][onaf-maturo]Ripen in the stone huts

What makes this one different

It gets two ripenings, about six months on boards in stone huts and then at least six months sealed in dark jars over oil and herbs. In the jar it referments without air.

Rind
Firm, rough, moist, deep hazelnut
Size
0.5–1.5 kg; 10–15 cm diameter

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is raw and the cheese is ripened for a year or more. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses.

History and sources

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

When fresh cheese was more than local need, some was kept by coating it with oil and herbs, sometimes vinegar, and closing it in jars against pests. Local witnesses confirm the same method for at least 25 years.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-maturo] Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura, Prodotti tradizionali, 'Caso maturo del Matese' (page last updated 13 March 2015; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-maturo] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Caso maturo del Matese', PAT Regione Campaniaweb
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Caso maturo del Matese' (id 1156)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov