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Cheese from Italy, Campania

Formaggio caprino del Cilentocasu

Raw goat milk is filtered, warmed to about 36–37 °C and set with calf or kid rennet in 20–25 minutes. The curd is broken to rice-grain size, drained in wicker baskets and dipped in hot ricotta whey, then dry-salted for two days, dipped in whey again and dried on racks. It is eaten fresh after 1–3 weeks or semi-aged for 1–3 months.

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give no amounts; size and weight vary. The cheeses are white cylinders marked by the wicker baskets.
Raw whole goat milkFiltered before use[cam-cilento][onaf-cilento]
Calf or kid rennetCalf rennet makes a sweet cheese; kid rennet paste makes it stronger and slightly sharp[cam-cilento][onaf-cilento]
SaltDry salt[cam-cilento]
Hot whey left from making ricottaFor dipping the cheeses, twice[cam-cilento][onaf-cilento]

Total time across the recorded steps: 9 days – 3 months

Start
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36–37 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw goat milk, filtered and warmed to about 36–37 °C

Step 1 of 8
Filter and warm the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
36–37 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: warm raw goat 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

Raw goat milk is filtered, warmed to about 36–37 °C and set with calf or kid rennet in 20–25 minutes. The curd is broken to rice-grain size, drained in wicker baskets and dipped in hot ricotta whey, then dry-salted for two days, dipped in whey again and dried on racks. It is eaten fresh after 1–3 weeks or semi-aged for 1–3 months. Made in 8 steps over 9 days – 3 months. The longest step, ripen, takes 7 days – 3 months (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…).

Key numbers
Main step7 days – 3 monthsReported[onaf-cilento]Ripen
Temperature36–37 °CReported[cam-cilento]Filter and warm the milk

What makes this one different

The forms are dipped twice in the hot whey left from ricotta making, once before and once after salting; the ONAF sheet says the first dip seals the forms. The choice of calf or kid rennet makes two distinct cheeses.

Rind
Thin, wrinkled by the wicker baskets, white to straw
Size
Variable; cylinder with flat faces
Season
All year (ONAF)

Related ferments

Variants

  • With calf rennetSweet.
  • With kid rennetMore intense and slightly sharp.

Safety

Raw-milk goat cheese that may be eaten after a week. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, the main hazards ANSES names for raw-milk cheeses.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet says the cheese is called "casu" in the Cilento dialect, and that it is very old. Its making is not officially dated, but it has been made the same way for at least 25 years, the period the rules for traditional food products require. The Campania region listed it among its traditional food products (PAT).

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [cam-cilento] Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura, prodotti tradizionali, 'Formaggio caprino del Cilento' (page updated 13 March 2015; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-cilento] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Formaggio caprino del Cilento' (PAT Campania)web
  3. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov