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Cheese from Italy, Toscana

Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane DOPPecorino delle Balze Volterrane

Raw whole milk of Sarda ewes is set in a copper or steel pot at 30–40 °C with rennet made only from wild cardoon flowers. The curd is broken with a spino, held warm under the whey, moulded by hand and dry-salted. It is sold from 7 days old (fresco) to more than 12 months (da asserbo), and stays sweet because the plant rennet sets the milk slowly.

Fully documentedCheese17 days – 18 daysPDO (Reg. (EU) 2015/271)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification sets rennet per 100 litres of milk but no batch size. Wheels weigh 600 g to 2 kg, up to 7 kg for da asserbo.
Raw whole milk of Sarda ewesWorked within 48 hours of the first milking; never thermised[eu-application][onaf-sheet]
Vegetable rennet from the flowers of wild cardoon or wild artichoke (Cynara cardunculus)10–50 ml per 100 l of milk[eu-application][onaf-sheet]
Thermophilic and/or mesophilic cultures, or whey from the previous make (optional)[onaf-sheet]
Fine salt[eu-application][onaf-sheet]
Olive oil, alone or with salt, and holm-oak or poplar ash (optional rind treatment)[onaf-sheet][eu-application]
Starteroptional thermophilic and/or mesophilic cultures, or whey from the previous make

Total time across the recorded steps: 17 days – 18 days

Start
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30–40 °CpH 5–5.4

What changes: Raw ewe milk is warmed in a copper pot and cultures or old whey go in

Step 1 of 7
Warm the raw milk and add cultures
Time
3–8 h
Reported
Temperature
30–40 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 5–5.4
Reported

Output: inoculated raw 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 whole milk of Sarda ewes is set in a copper or steel pot at 30–40 °C with rennet made only from wild cardoon flowers. The curd is broken with a spino, held warm under the whey, moulded by hand and dry-salted. It is sold from 7 days old (fresco) to more than 12 months (da asserbo), and stays sweet because the plant rennet sets the milk slowly. Made in 7 steps over 17 days – 18 days. The longest step, dry-salt and wash, takes up to 10 days (ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters)).

Key numbers
Main stepup to 10 daysReported[onaf-sheet]Dry-salt and wash
Temperature30–40 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Warm the raw milk and add cultures
AciditypH 5–5.4Reported[onaf-sheet]Warm the raw milk and add cultures

What makes this one different

A PDO pecorino set solely with cardoon-flower rennet, which coagulates more slowly and gently than animal rennet, so even the aged types lack sharp piquancy. The specification allows the last part of ripening in tufa caves or clay pits.

Size
Cylinder 10–20 cm across and 5–15 cm high
Composition
Fat in dry matter over 45%; protein over 20%
Feed
At least two thirds of the ewes' feed comes from grazing in the area

Related ferments

Variants

  • Fresco7 to 44 days
  • Semistagionato45 days to 6 months
  • Stagionato6 to 12 months
  • Da asserboMore than 12 months, up to 7 kg
  • Ash-and-oil rindRind treated with olive oil and holm-oak or poplar ash, turning it grey

Safety

A raw-milk cheese. The specification requires the milk to be worked within 48 hours, never thermised, and soured to pH 5.2 ± 0.2 within 3–8 hours when cultures are used. Fresco is sold after at least 7 days. CDC says eating products made from raw milk can expose people to germs. Its Listeria guidance tells pregnant women, newborns, adults 65 and over and people with weakened immune systems to avoid any cheese made from raw milk unless it is heated to 165 °F (74 °C) or until steaming hot.

History and sources

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

Before climate-controlled rooms, shepherds used the caves cut by erosion in the balze to shelter their flocks and to ripen cheese. Wild cardoon grows plentifully on the area's pastures. The name was registered as a PDO in 2015.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [eu-application] European Commission 2014, publication of the application for registration 'Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane' with the single document, Official Journal of the EU C 336, 26.9.2014 (CELEX 52014XC0926(06))spec
  2. [eu-reg] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/271 of 17 February 2015 registering 'Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane' (PDO), Official Journal of the EU L 47, 20.2.2015spec
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Pecorino delle Balze Volterrane', with the production rules of the specificationweb
  4. [cdc-raw-milk] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Raw Milk (31 January 2025)gov
  5. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov