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Cheese from Italy, Sardegna

Casu axeduFruhe

Goat or ewe milk at about 35 °C, sometimes with a natural whey starter, is set with rennet in 8–15 minutes and left 4–5 hours to firm. The curd is sliced and left under its whey for about a day to sour, then cut into slabs. It is eaten fresh within days, or dried, lightly salted and kept for months in saturated brine, where it turns salty and sharp.

Fully documentedCheese2.7 days – 3.2 daysPAT (traditional food product, Sardegna)Family: White brined cheese family (Feta PDO as template)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give no amounts. Pieces weigh about 150–300 g, very variable.
Whole goat or ewe milkRaw on the farm; thermised or pasteurised in small dairies[pat-axedu][onaf-axedu]
Natural whey starter (siero-fermenti)Optional; the previous make's whey left to sour about 24 hours as it cools from 34–36 °C to room temperature[pat-axedu][onaf-axedu]
Calf rennet, or kid or lamb rennet paste[pat-axedu][onaf-axedu]
SaltA light dry salting, then saturated brine, only for the aged form[pat-axedu][onaf-axedu]
Starteroptional natural whey starter: previous whey left to sour ~24 h, cooling from 34–36 °C to ambient

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.7 days – 3.2 days

Start
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35 °C

What changes: Goat or ewe milk is warmed, and soured whey from the last make may go in

Step 1 of 6
Warm the milk, with whey starter if used
Time
Not documented
Temperature
35 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

ONAF gives the setting temperature as room temperature, and says the work is done, where possible, without changing the milk's natural acidity.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

soured whey from the last make can be added as a starter

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

Goat or ewe milk at about 35 °C, sometimes with a natural whey starter, is set with rennet in 8–15 minutes and left 4–5 hours to firm. The curd is sliced and left under its whey for about a day to sour, then cut into slabs. It is eaten fresh within days, or dried, lightly salted and kept for months in saturated brine, where it turns salty and sharp. Made in 6 steps over 2.7 days – 3.2 days. The longest step, drain on mats and salt lightly, for keeping, takes 36 h – 2 days (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…).

Key numbers
Main step36 h – 2 daysReported[onaf-axedu]Drain on mats and salt lightly, for keeping
Temperature35 °CReported[pat-axedu]Warm the milk, with whey starter if used

What makes this one different

The curd sets slowly and is cut into slices that sour and drain under their own whey for about a day. It is kept under whey (fresh) or, after drying on mats and a light dry salting, in saturated brine (aged). Aged Fìscidu flavours soups and, in Ogliastra, the filling of potato ravioli.

Rind
None; white, smooth surface
Season
December to July
Size
150–300 g; irregular slabs 10–15 cm side, 3–5 cm high

Related ferments

Variants

  • FrescoSweet to sour, soft and unsalted, kept under whey and eaten within days.
  • Stagionato (Fìscidu, Vìscidu, Merca)Dried, lightly salted and kept for months in saturated brine; salty and sharp.

Safety

The farm form is raw milk; small dairies use thermised or pasteurised milk. 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

Laore cites M. L. Wagner's La vita rustica (first edition 1921) for the traditional method, and ONAF says the word casu is already cited in that edition. ONAF says shepherds historically ate this cheese for breakfast. Axedu means vinegar in Campidanese Sardinian, after the cheese's sourness.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-axedu] Laore Sardegna (regional agricultural development agency), Prodotto tradizionale della Sardegna, sheet 'Casu axedu' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-axedu] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Casu axedu', PAT Regione Sardegnaweb
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Casu axedu' (id 363)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov