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Cheese from Italy, Molise

Pecorino del Matese

Raw milk of Pagliarola sheep (three quarters) and local goats (one quarter) is warmed to 38–40 °C in a tinned-copper kettle and set with lamb or kid rennet paste in 30 minutes. The fine curd is gathered by hand, pressed into rush baskets, dry-salted for two days and ripened at least two months, its rind rubbed with oil and vinegar.

Fully documentedCheese2.6 months – 2.7 monthsPAT (traditional food product, Molise)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe sheets give the milk shares but no other amounts. A cheese weighs 0.8–3 kg.
Raw whole ewe milk (Pagliarola breed)3/4 (75 %)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Raw whole goat milk from local breeds1/4 (25 %)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Lamb or kid rennet paste[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Kitchen saltDry salt[pat-sheet]
Oil and vinegarRubbed on the rind during ripening[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.6 months – 2.7 months

Start
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38–40 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw sheep and goat milk, warmed to 38–40 °C

Step 1 of 7
Warm the mixed milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
38–40 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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 milk of Pagliarola sheep (three quarters) and local goats (one quarter) is warmed to 38–40 °C in a tinned-copper kettle and set with lamb or kid rennet paste in 30 minutes. The fine curd is gathered by hand, pressed into rush baskets, dry-salted for two days and ripened at least two months, its rind rubbed with oil and vinegar. Made in 7 steps over 2.6 months – 2.7 months. The longest step, ripen and rub with oil and vinegar, takes at least 2 months (ARSARP Molise (regional agency for agricultural).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen and rub with oil and vinegar
Temperature38–40 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Warm the mixed milk

What makes this one different

It is a mixed-milk cheese, three parts Pagliarola sheep milk to one part goat milk, made only in the grazing months. At Carnival it is rolled in the 'Gioco della pezzotta' contest.

Rind
Hard, ridged by the rush baskets, hazel darkening with age
Size
0.8–3 kg; Ø 14–22 cm, height 4–8 cm
Season
Made April to September, when the animals graze fresh grass

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk of animals free of brucellosis and tuberculosis. The regional sheet says ripening longer than two months gives a hygienically safe product, but that goes further than the evidence. In a challenge study, E. coli O157 added to raw ewe milk was still detectable in pecorino after 90 days. ANSES, the French food safety agency, says Listeria and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli in raw-milk cheeses can kill. It advises pregnant women, people with weak immunity, people over 65 and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses, except cooked pressed kinds such as Gruyère or Comté, which this cheese is not. It adds that raw-milk cheese that is well cooked, as in an oven recipe, no longer poses a risk.

Hazards the sources name: Escherichia coli O157, added to raw ewe milk in a challenge study of Italian pecorino made by several methods, not this cheese; still countable at 60 days and detectable after 90 days of ripening.

History and sources

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

The ONAF sheet's history section records the cheese's use at Carnival in the 'Gioco della pezzotta', in which two all-male teams throw and roll it against each other.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [pat-sheet] ARSARP Molise (regional agency for agricultural, rural and fisheries development), L'atlante dei prodotti tradizionali del Molise, 'Pecorino del Matese' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Pecorino del Matese'web
  3. [centorotola2021] Centorotola G., Sperandii A.F., Tucci P. et al. 2021, Survival rate of Escherichia coli O157 in artificially contaminated raw and thermized ewe milk in different Pecorino cheese production processes, International Journal of Food Microbiology 347:109175, doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109175 (abstract)paper
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov