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Cheese from Italy, Campania

Pecorino salaprese

Raw ewe milk from local breeds is warmed to 36 °C and set with lamb or kid rennet paste in 20–30 minutes. The curd is broken to rice-size grains, pressed by hand into baskets, scalded in hot ricotta whey after 3–4 hours and dry-salted for about 24 hours. It is eaten after only a few days of drying, once it has "taken the salt", which gives the name.

Fully documentedCheese27 h – 29 hPAT (traditional food product, Campania)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give no amounts. A cheese weighs 0.8–2.5 kg.
Raw whole ewe milkTwo milkings, kept at 4 °C on the farm and coagulated the next morning[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Lamb or kid rennet paste[onaf-sheet]
Medium-grain salt[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Starternone listed in the sheets (the ONAF sheet gives additions as not stated)

Total time across the recorded steps: 27 h – 29 h

Start
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36 °C

What changes: Rennet paste goes into the raw ewe milk at 36 °C

Step 1 of 6
Warm and set the milk
Time
20–30 min
Reported
Temperature
36 °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 local breeds is warmed to 36 °C and set with lamb or kid rennet paste in 20–30 minutes. The curd is broken to rice-size grains, pressed by hand into baskets, scalded in hot ricotta whey after 3–4 hours and dry-salted for about 24 hours. It is eaten after only a few days of drying, once it has "taken the salt", which gives the name. Made in 6 steps over 27 h – 29 h. The longest step, dry-salt, takes 24 h (Regione Campania 2015).

Key numbers
Main step24 hReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Dry-salt
Temperature36 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Warm and set the milk

What makes this one different

Unlike other Campanian pecorinos it is not aged at all. It is eaten once the salt has gone in, after a few days of drying, so it stays milky and never turns sharp.

Rind
Often none, or thin, soft and greasy, white to ivory, with basket marks
Size
14–22 cm across, 4–8 cm high, 0.8–2.5 kg
Season
Made all year; liked most in summer

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is raw and the cheese is eaten after only a few days, without the long ripening of aged pecorino. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, the main hazards ANSES names for raw-milk cheeses.

History and sources

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

Local witnesses confirm the same method for at least 25 years.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura, Prodotti tradizionali, 'Pecorino salaprese' (page last updated 13 March 2015; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Pecorino salaprese', PAT Regione Campaniaweb
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Pecorino salaprese' (id 1191)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov