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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Sicilia

Caciocavallo palermitano

Made in 6 steps over 43 days – 4.4 months. The longest step, ripen, takes 30 days – 4 months (ONAF).

Key numbers
Main step30 days – 4 monthsReported[onaf][onaf-sheet][pat-sheet]Ripen
Temperature35 °CReported[onaf][onaf-sheet][pat-sheet]Set the curd

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
cow milk, (Cinisara breed), raw, whole
Starter: none added; lactic bacteria from the wooden tina biofilm

Total time across the recorded steps: 43 days – 4.4 months

Start
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What changes: Raw whole cow milk goes into the vat

Step 1 of 6
Prepare the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

C (Cinisara breed), raw, whole

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

What makes this one different

Cinisara cow caciocavallo made only with wooden tools whose biofilm acts as the starter; aged in long rectangular blocks.

Rind
Clean, smooth, sharp edges; straw to amber/brown, up to ~3 mm
Size
8–12 kg; square-section block, sides 12–18 cm, length 30–60 cm

Variants

  • Semistagionato: 1–4 mo, elastic
  • Stagionato: > 4 mo, hard, piquant

History and sources

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

  1. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Caciocavallo palermitano' (id 1214)web
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF technical sheet PDFweb
  3. [pat-sheet] Regione Siciliana PAT sheetgov