Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, southern Apennines

Caciocavallo Silano PDOCaciocavallo Silano

Raw cow milk, sometimes thermised, is set with calf or kid rennet paste at 36–38 °C. The broken curd sours for 4–10 hours until a piece stretches in near-boiling water, then is spun and moulded by hand into an oval or a cone. After at least 6 hours in brine the cheeses are tied in pairs and hung over poles to ripen for at least 30 days. Made in 7 steps over 30 days – 31 days. The longest step, tie in pairs and hang to ripen, takes at least 30 days (European Commission 2024). Lactic bacteria of the raw milk and of the natural whey starter, which sour the curd before stretching does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 30 daysSet[silano-sd2024][silano-disc]Tie in pairs and hang to ripen
Temperatureup to 58 °CSet[silano-sd2024][silano-disc]Collect raw cow milk

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives temperatures and times but no batch size. Cheeses weigh from 1 kg upward.
Raw cow milk · May be thermised at the dairy up to 58 °C for 30 seconds; at least half of the cows' feed dry matter comes from the area[silano-sd2024]
Calf or kid rennet paste · Kid rennet is the main kind and is credited with the sharp taste of old cheeses[silano-disc]
Natural whey starter · Optional; must be made in the same dairy[silano-disc]
Salt (brine)[silano-disc]
Starter: natural whey starter from the same dairy, or none

Total time across the recorded steps: 30 days – 31 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
up to 58 °C

What changes: Raw cow milk is used as it is or warmed briefly at up to 58 °C

Step 1 of 7
Collect raw cow milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 58 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: raw or lightly thermised cow milk.

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

The PDO caciocavallo of the southern Apennines. Unlike Podolico caciocavallo it is not tied to one breed of cow, and unlike many stretched-curd cheeses it needs raw or only thermised milk and at least 30 days hanging in pairs.

Milk
Raw cow milk only, which may be thermised at the dairy to 58 °C for 30 seconds
Ripening
At least 30 days; 'extra' at least 4 months; 'gran riserva' at least 9 months
Size
From 1 kg; the specification prints the upper limit as '2500 kg', a figure that cannot be meant literally
Composition
Fat at least 38 % of dry matter

Related ferments

Variants

  • ExtraRipened at least 4 months.
  • Gran riservaRipened at least 9 months.

Safety

Made from raw or briefly thermised milk; pasteurisation is not allowed. The cheese must ripen at least 30 days before sale.

History and sources

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

An 1811 survey of Calabria for the Napoleonic government already praised the local caciocavalli. On the Sila plateau, before cows were kept in stalls, herders made it only in spring and summer in small wooden huts called vaccarizzi. The name comes from hanging the cheeses in pairs astride a pole.

  1. [silano-sd2024] European Commission 2024, Caciocavallo Silano PDO, amendment and single document (PDO-IT-0003-AM01), Official Journal of the EU C/2024/2490spec
  2. [silano-disc] MASAF 2024, Disciplinare di produzione della DOP 'Caciocavallo Silano' (consolidated specification, January 2024)spec
  3. [succi2016] Succi M. et al. 2016, Variability in chemical and microbiological profiles of long-ripened Caciocavallo cheeses, Journal of Dairy Science 99(12):9521–9533 (abstract)paper
  4. [tardiolo2025] Tardiolo G. et al. 2025, Ripening-associated changes in fatty acid composition and nutritional indices in Caciocavallo Silano PDO cheese, Foods 14(9):1566 (abstract)paper
  5. [vacca2024] Vacca M. et al. 2024, Dynamic microbial and metabolic changes during Apulian Caciocavallo cheesemaking and ripening produced according to a standardized protocol, Journal of Dairy Science 107(9):6541–6557 (abstract)paper