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Cheese from Italy, Basilicata

Pecorino di Filiano PDO

Raw whole sheep milk is warmed in a vat to no more than 40 °C and set with home-made kid or lamb rennet paste. The rice-size curd is pressed by hand into rush baskets and the cheeses are dipped for 15 minutes in the hot whey left from ricotta, at no more than 90 °C. After salting they ripen at least 180 days in tuff caves or cellars at 12–14 °C, rubbed with olive oil and wine vinegar.

Fully documentedCheese5.9 monthsPDO (EU), Reg. (EC) No 1485/2007Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives conditions, not doses. Cheeses weigh 2.5–5 kg.
Raw whole sheep milk from one or two milkings, from Gentile di Puglia, Gentile di Lucania, Leccese, Comisana and Sarda sheep and their crossesProcessed within 24 hours of the first milking[filiano-scheda]
Rennet paste from the stomachs of suckling kids and lambs, made by the dairyStomachs are dried, salted about 15 days, dried about 60 days, ground and mixed with 150 g of fine salt per kg of paste (ONAF sheet)[filiano-scheda][onaf-sheet]
Salt, dry or as saturated brine[filiano-scheda]
Extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar, for the rind[filiano-scheda]
StarterNone added. Bonomo and Salzano (2012) studied a Filiano made with traditional techniques and no starter cultures; the plant heated the milk at 68 °C for 20 s, cooled it to 36–40 °C and set it with paste lamb rennet.

Total time across the recorded steps: 5.9 months

Start
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36–40 °C

What changes: Home-made lamb or kid rennet goes into the warm raw sheep milk

Step 1 of 6
Warm and set with lamb or kid rennet
Time
Not documented
Temperature
36–40 °C
Set
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 whole sheep milk is warmed in a vat to no more than 40 °C and set with home-made kid or lamb rennet paste. The rice-size curd is pressed by hand into rush baskets and the cheeses are dipped for 15 minutes in the hot whey left from ricotta, at no more than 90 °C. After salting they ripen at least 180 days in tuff caves or cellars at 12–14 °C, rubbed with olive oil and wine vinegar. Made in 6 steps over 5.9 months. The longest step, ripen in tuff caves, takes at least 5.9 months (European Commission 2007) and runs at 12–14 °C (European Commission 2007).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 5.9 monthsSet[filiano-scheda]Ripen in tuff caves
Temperature12–14 °CSet[filiano-scheda]Ripen in tuff caves

What makes this one different

Each dairy makes its own rennet from suckling kids and lambs, and the basketed cheeses are scalded in near-boiling ricotta whey before at least 180 days in tuff caves.

Milk
Raw whole sheep milk, used within 24 hours of the first milking
Ripening
At least 180 days
Composition
Fat in dry matter at least 30%
Size
2.5–5 kg, faces 15–30 cm across, sides 8–18 cm high, basket marks on the rind

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is raw and must be processed within 24 hours of the first milking; the cheese ripens at least 180 days.

History and sources

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

The EU summary sheet says sheep farms in the area already existed at the time of the Roman conquest and clustered near the Via Appia and its drove roads (tratturi). It says the Doria family, lords from 1530 of the land around Monte Vulture by gift of Emperor Charles V, organised plants for processing milk and wool. Their family records document a Filiano flock of up to 10,000 sheep, moved in summer from the Ofanto plain to the heights of the Vitalba valley. By 2007 the Pecorino di Filiano festival had run without a break for some thirty years.

  1. [filiano-scheda] European Commission 2007, Scheda riepilogativa "Pecorino di Filiano", publication under Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006, OJ C 85, 19.4.2007 (copy hosted by ONAF)spec
  2. [filiano-disciplinare] Disciplinare di produzione della Denominazione di Origine Protetta «Pecorino di Filiano», Articles 3-5 and Annex A, EU geographical indications register (eAmbrosia), attachment 59727spec
  3. [bonomo2012] Bonomo M.G., Salzano G. 2012, Microbial diversity and dynamics of Pecorino di Filiano PDO, a traditional cheese of Basilicata region (Southern Italy), International Journal of Dairy Technology 65(4):531-541paper
  4. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Pecorino di Filiano'web