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Cheese from Italy, Abruzzo

Incanestrato di Castel del MonteCanestrato di Castel del Monte

Raw whole sheep milk is warmed to 38–40 °C, sometimes with whey or milk starter, and set with animal rennet in 20–30 minutes. The corn-size curd is packed by hand into rush baskets, turned for two days, dry-salted on both faces and washed in hot water. The cheese dries 25–30 days and ripens 4–10 months in cool rooms.

Fully documentedCheese4.9 months – 11 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Regione Abruzzo)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheet gives no batch size and sets the rennet dose by its strength and the milk's acidity. Cheeses weigh 1.5 to 6–7 kg.
Raw whole sheep milkFresh from milking, or chilled to about 4 °C and kept no more than 12–24 hours[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Whey or milk starter (optional)Adds thermophilic lactic bacteria to help souring[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Animal rennet, liquid or powder, preferably lamb or kid[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Dry salt[pat-sheet]
Starteroptional whey or milk starter (thermophilic)

Total time across the recorded steps: 4.9 months – 11 months

Start
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38–40 °C

What changes: The filtered raw milk is warmed to 38–40 °C in the cauldron

Step 1 of 7
Filter and warm the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
38–40 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk is filtered into the cauldron; whey or milk starter may be added. Milk not used at once is chilled to about 4 °C and kept no more than 12–24 hours.

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 sheep milk is warmed to 38–40 °C, sometimes with whey or milk starter, and set with animal rennet in 20–30 minutes. The corn-size curd is packed by hand into rush baskets, turned for two days, dry-salted on both faces and washed in hot water. The cheese dries 25–30 days and ripens 4–10 months in cool rooms. Made in 7 steps over 4.9 months – 11 months. The longest step, ripen, takes 4–10 months (Regione Abruzzo) and runs at 10–14 °C (Regione Abruzzo).

Key numbers
Main step4–10 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen
Temperature10–14 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen

What makes this one different

A Gran Sasso basket cheese of raw milk, close in origin to Canestrato Pugliese through the old transhumance. Its whey can start the next make, and the regional sheet allows natural ripening rooms, such as caves, to keep the typical microflora.

Rind
Hard, straw-yellow, with the mark of the rush baskets; softer in young cheese
Size
Cylinder of 1.5 to 6–7 kg
Additives
None

Related ferments

Variants

  • Fresco or inceratoEaten young, after the 25–30 day drying; softer paste and rind.
  • StagionatoRipened 4–10 months; hard and sometimes piquant.

Safety

Made from raw sheep milk, used fresh or chilled to about 4 °C for no more than 12–24 hours. It can be eaten fresh or as the young incerato, after 25–30 days of drying. The FDA says US law requires raw-milk cheese to age at least 60 days, and that aging for 60 days may not eliminate or adequately reduce E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet ties the cheese to the transhumance that linked the Tavoliere plains to the pastures of Campo Imperatore. It says a consortium to promote and protect it was formed recently, and that the name 'Canestrato di Castel del Monte' is reserved for cheese made to the consortium's rules.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Abruzzo, traditional food product sheet 'Incanestrato di Castel del Monte', copy hosted by ONAFgov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Incanestrato di Castel del Monte'web
  3. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov
  4. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Incanestrato di Castel del Monte' (id 325)web