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Cheese from Italy, Sicily

Piacentinu Ennese PDO

Raw whole milk from native Sicilian sheep is warmed with local saffron and set with lamb or kid rennet paste at 34–36 °C. The small curd is semi-cooked at 47–55 °C, mixed with whole black peppercorns, pressed into rush baskets and left under hot whey for about three hours. It is dry-salted three times about ten days apart and ripens at least 60 days. The paste is an even saffron yellow.

Fully documentedCheese2 monthsPDO (EU), Reg. (EU) No 132/2011; standard amendment approved 31.3.2025 (OJ C/2025/3227, 11.6.2025)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification gives no doses; the ONAF sheet gives saffron at about 5 g per hectolitre of milk. Cheeses weigh 3.5–4.5 kg.
Raw whole sheep milk of natural acidity (pH 6.5–6.8) from Comisana, Pinzirita and Valle del Belice sheep raised in the area[piac-scheda]
Lamb or kid rennet paste from animals raised in the area[piac-scheda]
Saffron (Crocus sativus) grown in the areaAbout 5 g per hl of milk (ONAF sheet)[piac-scheda][onaf-sheet]
Whole black peppercorns, dipped for a few seconds in water above 80 °C before use[piac-scheda]
Coarse white salt[piac-scheda]
Starternone added; the raw milk's natural acidity

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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34–36 °CpH 6.5–6.8

What changes: Saffron and lamb rennet go into the warm raw sheep milk

Step 1 of 6
Warm with saffron and set with rennet
Time
at least 40 min
Reported
Temperature
34–36 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 6.5–6.8
Set
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 from native Sicilian sheep is warmed with local saffron and set with lamb or kid rennet paste at 34–36 °C. The small curd is semi-cooked at 47–55 °C, mixed with whole black peppercorns, pressed into rush baskets and left under hot whey for about three hours. It is dry-salted three times about ten days apart and ripens at least 60 days. The paste is an even saffron yellow. Made in 6 steps over 2 months. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 2 months (European Commission 2010) and runs at 8–10 °C (European Commission 2010).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[piac-scheda]Ripen
Temperature8–10 °CSet[piac-scheda]Ripen
AciditypH 4.8–5.7Set[piac-scheda]Ripen

What makes this one different

Saffron grown around Enna goes into the milk and whole peppercorns into the curd, giving an even yellow paste flecked with black. The cheese is dry-salted three times and ripens at least 60 days.

Saffron and pepper
Local saffron in the vat (about 5 g per hl, ONAF) and whole black peppercorns in the curd
Composition
Fat in dry matter at least 40%, protein in dry matter at least 35%, salt at most 5% of dry matter, pH 4.80–5.70
Size
11–15 cm high, faces 18–20 cm across, 3.5–4.5 kg (dimensions as amended in 2025; the 2010 document gave 14–15 cm and 20–21 cm)

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is raw and used at its natural acidity; the finished cheese has a pH of 4.80–5.70 and ripens at least 60 days. These do not remove the risk. In a challenge study, E. coli O157 added to raw and thermised ewe milk was still detectable after 90 days of ripening in Pecorino, a related cheese whose curd was cooked at no more than 45 °C. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheeses other than pressed cooked ones such as Gruyère, because of Listeria, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin E. coli. Its page does not say whether a semi-cooked cheese like this one counts.

History and sources

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

The specification cites a sixteenth-century text, "Le venti giornate dell'agricoltura e dei piaceri della villa", that mentions salting cheese and adding saffron to give it more colour, and Maja's "La Sicilia passeggiata" of 1600. Old producers explain the name as Sicilian piacenti, "pleasing".

  1. [piac-scheda] European Commission 2010, single document "Piacentinu Ennese" PDO, OJ C 164, 24.6.2010 (copy hosted by ONAF); registered by Reg. (EU) No 132/2011spec
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Piacentinu Ennese'web
  3. [oj-2025] European Commission 2025, Publication of the communication of an approved standard amendment to a product specification, 'Piacentinu Ennese' (PDO-IT-0646-AM01), with the amended single document, Official Journal of the EU C/2025/3227, 11 June 2025spec
  4. [pino2019] Pino A., Russo N., Van Hoorde K., De Angelis M., Sferrazzo G., Randazzo C.L., Caggia C. 2019, Piacentinu Ennese PDO Cheese as Reservoir of Promising Probiotic Bacteria, Microorganisms 7(8):254paper
  5. [centorotola2021] Centorotola G. 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 (abstract)paper
  6. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov