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Cheese from Italy, Campania

Formaggio morbido del Matese

Raw whole cow milk, still at body heat from the morning milking, is set with farm-made kid rennet in 1–2 hours without heating. The curd is broken to rice-grain size, pressed briefly into wicker or plastic baskets in 1–2 kg pieces and dry-salted on both faces. It ripens from 10 days to 2–3 months in cellars or lofts, where a light white mould forms on the rind.

Fully documentedCheese10 days – 3 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Regione Campania)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe regional sheet gives no amounts or batch size; cheeses are pressed in 1–2 kg portions.
Raw whole cow milk, freshly milked in the morningMainly from Brown or Italian Red Pied cows of small and medium herds[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Kid rennet paste, made on the farm[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Food salt[pat-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 10 days – 3 months

Start
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36–38 °C

What changes: Farm-made kid rennet goes into morning milk still warm from the cow

Step 1 of 6
Add kid rennet to warm fresh milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
36–38 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk is not heated unless the room is too cold. ONAF gives 37–38 °C.

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 whole cow milk, still at body heat from the morning milking, is set with farm-made kid rennet in 1–2 hours without heating. The curd is broken to rice-grain size, pressed briefly into wicker or plastic baskets in 1–2 kg pieces and dry-salted on both faces. It ripens from 10 days to 2–3 months in cellars or lofts, where a light white mould forms on the rind. Made in 6 steps over 10 days – 3 months. The longest step, ripen in a cellar or loft, takes 10 days – 3 months (Regione Campania 2015).

Key numbers
Main step10 days – 3 monthsReported[pat-sheet]Ripen in a cellar or loft
Temperature36–38 °CReported[pat-sheet]Add kid rennet to warm fresh milk

What makes this one different

The soft cow cheese of Pietraroja is set with farm kid rennet at the milk's own body heat, with no cooking and no hot water, and ripened from 10 days to 2–3 months.

Rind
Soft, elastic, straw yellow with white mould bloom
Size
Cylinder of 1–2 kg
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk and ripened from 10 days to 2–3 months. ANSES names Listeria, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli as the main raw-milk cheese hazards. It advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children not to eat raw-milk cheeses, except cooked pressed ones such as Comté.

History and sources

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

The ONAF sheet places the cheese in a very small area, the commune of Pietraroja on the Benevento slopes of the Matese. The regional sheet says local testimony confirms it has been made for at least 25 years. The Campania region listed it among its traditional food products (PAT).

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura, Prodotti tradizionali, 'Formaggio morbido del Matese' (page updated 13 March 2015; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Formaggio morbido del Matese'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Formaggio morbido del Matese' (id 1182)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov