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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Lazio

Caciotta cepraneseCaciotta/caciottone cepranese

Milk from Friesian and Brown cows kept half-wild on pasture is thermised at 60 °C, set with calf rennet at 37 °C and cooked briefly at 40 °C. The curd is pressed by hand into baskets, held warm at 40 °C for about 3 hours and salted. The small caciotta ripens 15–30 days; the large caciottone ripens at least 6 months and turns piquant. Made in 8 steps over 16 days. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 15 days (Regione Lazio and ARSIAL) and runs at 12 °C (Regione Lazio and ARSIAL). Lactic bacteria that survive the mild heat treatment does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 15 daysSet[arsial-cepranese]Ripen
Temperature12 °CSet[arsial-cepranese]Ripen

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe survey sheet gives temperatures and times but no batch size. A caciotta weighs about 1.5 kg and a caciottone about 8 kg.
Cow milk from two milkings · Friesian and Brown cows kept semi-wild with access to pasture; held at 12 °C for 4 hours[arsial-cepranese]
Calf liquid rennet[arsial-cepranese]
Coarse salt or brine[arsial-cepranese]
Starter: none named; the milk is only thermised

Total time across the recorded steps: 16 days

Start
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12 °C

What changes: Starting material: cow milk from the morning and evening milkings

Step 1 of 8
Collect and hold the milk
Time
4 h
Set
Temperature
12 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Filtered both in the milking parlour and at the dairy. Output: morning and evening 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

A thermised cow caciotta made in two sizes from the same curd. The small one is eaten young; the large one is kept at least six months.

Size
Cylinder with flat faces; caciotta about 1.5 kg; caciottone about 8 kg, 30 cm across with a 15 cm side
Ripening
Caciotta 15–30 days; caciottone at least 6 months

Related ferments

Variants

  • CaciottaAbout 1.5 kg; soft; 15–30 days.
  • CaciottoneAbout 8 kg; semi-hard to hard and piquant; at least 6 months.

Safety

The milk is thermised at 60 °C for about 5 minutes, which is milder than pasteurisation. The caciotta ripens 15–30 days and the caciottone at least 6 months.

History and sources

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

Ceprano keeps old farm feasts such as the Fiera di Sant'Antonio Abate. In the past every farm family kept a cow and made caciotte to eat fresh, store in the cellar or sell. A favourite way to eat it was lightly fried in olive oil.

  1. [arsial-cepranese] Regione Lazio and ARSIAL, Scheda di rilevamento dei prodotti tradizionali della Regione Lazio (D.M. 350/99), 'Caciotta/caciottone cepranese' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [pat-lazio] Regione Lazio and ARSIAL, PAT Lazio 2026, Lazio section of the national list of traditional agri-food products (law 238/2016, art. 12), no. 91 'Caciotta Cepranese'gov
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Caciotta cepranese'web