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Cheese from Italy, Sardegna

Pecorino di OsiloCasu de Osile

Raw ewe milk from the evening and morning milkings is set at 35 °C in 30–40 minutes with calf rennet, sometimes lamb paste. The curd is broken to maize or millet size and semi-cooked at 43–46 °C, then shaped under the whey into a long cylinder, cut, wrapped in cloth and pressed 5–6 hours. After about 24 hours in brine it ripens in cool cellars, from 60 days to a year.

Fully documentedCheese2 months – 12 monthsPAT (traditional agri-food product of Sardegna)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe Laore sheet gives daily quantities of 50–220 litres of milk worked; no other amounts are recorded. Wheels weigh 1.5–3 kg.
Raw whole ewe milk from the evening and morning milkingsDaily quantities of milk worked are 50–220 litres (Laore sheet)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Liquid calf rennet, sometimes lamb paste rennet[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt (brine)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Oil and vinegar for the rind[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months – 12 months

Start
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35 °CMilk proteinGel (curd)

What changes: Calf rennet sets raw ewe milk at 35 °C in 30–40 minutes

Step 1 of 7
Set with calf rennet
Time
30–40 min
Reported
Temperature
35 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: curd.

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 ewe milk from the evening and morning milkings is set at 35 °C in 30–40 minutes with calf rennet, sometimes lamb paste. The curd is broken to maize or millet size and semi-cooked at 43–46 °C, then shaped under the whey into a long cylinder, cut, wrapped in cloth and pressed 5–6 hours. After about 24 hours in brine it ripens in cool cellars, from 60 days to a year. Made in 7 steps over 2 months – 12 months. The longest step, ripen in cool cellars, takes 2–12 months (ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters)).

Key numbers
Main step2–12 monthsReported[onaf-sheet]Ripen in cool cellars
Temperature35 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Set with calf rennet

What makes this one different

Smaller and taller than Pecorino Sardo, with a thin sharp edge. The curd is cooked (its local name means cheese made with fire) and machine-pressed, which keeps the paste supple even after long ageing.

Shape
Tall cylinder 14–22 cm across and 9–13 cm high, with a thin, almost sharp edge
Season
Made all year except August, when the ewes are dry

Related ferments

Variants

  • Da arrostoAbout 25 days; for roasting
  • Fresco30–40 days; table cheese
  • Semistagionato60 days
  • StagionatoOver 120 days, up to a year

Safety

A raw-milk cheese. The ONAF sheet gives 60 days as the minimum, though some is sold younger, and the rind is washed and oiled against moulds and mites. In a challenge study, E. coli O157 added to raw ewe milk was still detectable in pecorino after 90 days of ripening, so ripening alone is no guarantee. ANSES, the French food safety agency, says Listeria and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli in raw-milk cheeses can kill, and advises pregnant women, people with weak immunity, people over 65 and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses other than pressed cooked ones such as Gruyère or Comté. Its page does not say whether a semi-cooked cheese like this one counts. It says cheese cooked well, as in an oven recipe, no longer poses a risk.

Hazards the sources name: Escherichia coli O157, added to raw and thermised ewe milk in a challenge study of pecorino made by other recipes; it was still detectable after 90 days of ripening.

History and sources

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

In 1913 Canon Francesco Liberi Tolu praised the cheese, noting that its cooked curd made it tastier and hardier. The whey also makes ricotta mustìa, a lightly smoked ricotta.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [pat-sheet] Laore Sardegna (regional agricultural development agency), Prodotto tradizionale della Sardegna, sheet 'Pecorino di Osilo'gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Pecorino di Osilo'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Pecorino di Osilo' (id 374)web
  4. [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
  5. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov