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Cheese from Italy, Campania

Casu ré pecóra del MatesePecorino del Matese

Raw whole ewe milk from the evening and morning milkings is set with calf rennet at 35 °C, broken to hazelnut or corn size and lightly pressed by hand into baskets. The cheeses are rubbed with salt, dried and ripened on beech boards in stone huts at 8–15 °C. They are sold at three ages, with dialect names for fresh, semi-aged and aged.

Fully documentedCheese7.1 daysPAT (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. A cheese weighs 0.5–1.5 kg.
Raw whole ewe milkEvening and morning milkings of sheep grazed on mountain pasture[pat-casure][onaf-casure]
Liquid calf rennet[pat-casure][onaf-casure]
Medium-grain saltRubbed on the surface[pat-casure][onaf-casure]
Olive oilRubbed on the rind during ripening when needed[pat-casure][onaf-casure]

Total time across the recorded steps: 7.1 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
35 °C

What changes: Calf rennet sets the raw ewe milk at 35 °C

Step 1 of 5
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 from the evening and morning milkings is set with calf rennet at 35 °C, broken to hazelnut or corn size and lightly pressed by hand into baskets. The cheeses are rubbed with salt, dried and ripened on beech boards in stone huts at 8–15 °C. They are sold at three ages, with dialect names for fresh, semi-aged and aged. Made in 5 steps over 7.1 days. The longest step, ripen in the stone huts, takes at least 7 days (Regione Campania 2015) and runs at 8–15 °C (Regione Campania 2015).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 7 daysReported[pat-casure][onaf-casure]Ripen in the stone huts
Temperature8–15 °CReported[pat-casure][onaf-casure]Ripen in the stone huts

What makes this one different

It is the basket pecorino of the Matese, sold at three dialect-named ages, friscu, musciu and siccu. It is made from January to October.

Rind
Basket-marked and white when fresh, nearly smooth and straw-yellow when semi-aged, rough and brown when aged
Size
0.5–1.5 kg; 10–15 cm diameter, 4–8 cm high

Related ferments

Variants

  • Friscu (fresco)Up to 7 days; white, soft and sweet.
  • Musciu (semi-stagionato)7 to 90 days; almost creamy, light straw paste.
  • Siccu (stagionato)90 days and more; compact, firm and slightly sharp, with a rough brown rind.

Safety

The milk is raw, and the fresh form is eaten within a week. 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

The tools were all wooden except the stainless steel or tinned copper cauldrons. 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-casure] Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura, Prodotti tradizionali, 'Casu ré pecóra del Matese' (page last updated 13 March 2015; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-casure] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Casu ré pecóra del Matese', PAT Regione Campaniaweb
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Casu ré pecóra del Matese' (id 1159)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov