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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Marche

Cacio in forma di limone

Raw ewe milk is set with local rennet, the curd is broken gently and pressed into perforated terracotta moulds shaped like lemons. The small cheeses are dry-salted for two days with salt and grated lemon zest, coated with lemon peel and ripened 4–10 days. They are eaten fresh, as a dessert. Made in 6 steps over 6 days – 12 days. The longest step, ripen briefly in a cool, damp room, takes 4–10 days (Regione Marche 2014). Lactic acid bacteria of the raw ewe milk does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step4–10 daysReported[pat-sheet]Ripen briefly in a cool, damp room

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe regional sheet gives no amounts. Each cheese weighs 100–150 g; it is made from April to September.
Raw whole ewe milk · Local; ewes on open pasture, forage and cereal-legume mixes[pat-sheet]
Natural rennet · Of local origin[pat-sheet]
Salt mixed with grated lemon zest · A little salt, for two days of dry salting[pat-sheet]
Water and flour, then lemon peel · Brushed on so the peel sticks to the surface[pat-sheet]
Starter: none added; the raw milk's own lactic flora

Total time across the recorded steps: 6 days – 12 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria

What changes: Local rennet goes into the raw ewe milk and it sets

Step 1 of 6
Add rennet to the raw milk
Time
20–30 min
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
soft gel
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

What makes this one different

Fresh ewe cheese moulded into a lemon shape and flavoured with lemon zest and peel instead of herbs or ash; ripened only 4–10 days and eaten as a dessert.

Rind
None as such; the surface is covered with grated lemon peel
Size
100–150 g; lemon shape
Season
Made from April to September

Related ferments

Safety

A raw-milk cheese eaten after only 4–10 days of ripening. No safety study of it was found.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet traces it to the dishes listed by Bartolomeo Scappi, the pope's cook, in the 16th century. It was rediscovered for a medieval dinner held in Mondavio, and Marche first listed it as a traditional dairy product in 1998.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Marche, Decreto del Dirigente n. 73/CSI of 11 March 2014, updated list of traditional products, Annex B technical sheet 'Cacio in forma di limone'gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF technical sheet, Cacio in forma di limone (PAT Regione Marche)web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Cacio in forma di limone' (id 414)web