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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Lazio

Caciotta della Sabina (semplice e alle erbe)pizza di cacio

Whole ewe milk is pasteurised, soured with a thermophilic starter and set with lamb and calf rennet in 30 minutes. The curd is broken to chickpea size, cooked 10 minutes at 43 °C, moulded, warmed twice and brined for 24 hours per kg. It ripens 20–30 days on wooden boards at 12–13 °C; the herb version has one herb stirred into the curd. Made in 8 steps over 21 days – 31 days. The longest step, ripen on wooden boards, takes 20–30 days (ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultura…) and runs at 12–13 °C (ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultura…). Thermophilic lactic starter cultures does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step20–30 daysSet[arsial-sabina]Ripen on wooden boards
Temperature12–13 °CSet[arsial-sabina]Ripen on wooden boards

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheet gives temperatures and times but no batch size. A cheese weighs 1.5–4 kg.
Whole ewe milk from two milkings · Grazing ewes; evening milk chilled, morning milk used at once[arsial-sabina][lazio-scheda-sabina]
Thermophilic starter culture[arsial-sabina]
Lamb paste rennet and calf powder rennet · Half and half[arsial-sabina][lazio-scheda-sabina]
Salt (saturated brine)[arsial-sabina]
Chives, rocket, wild fennel, basil or coriander (to taste) · Herb version only[arsial-sabina]
Starter: thermophilic cultures added at 36 °C

Total time across the recorded steps: 21 days – 31 days

Start
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70 °C

What changes: Whole ewe milk is heated to 70 °C for 15 seconds

Step 1 of 8
Pasteurise the milk
Time
0.2 min
Set
Temperature
70 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: pasteurised ewe 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

Made in the same dairies and almost the same way as Cacio magno, but shaped as a round, brined far longer (24 hours per kg, against 2) and flavoured, in the herb version, with one garden or wild herb.

Rind
Thin, rough, fairly hard, greyish (ONAF)
Size
Cylinder with flat faces, 1.5–4 kg

Related ferments

Variants

  • SemplicePlain.
  • Alle erbeOne herb (chives, rocket, wild fennel, basil or coriander) in the paste.

Safety

The milk is pasteurised at 70 °C for 15 seconds before the starter goes in. The Lazio list marks it as allowed to use derogations from the standard hygiene rules for its traditional methods.

History and sources

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

A typical Rieti cheese, once made at the high summer folds (stazzi). Mountain grazing and the old method keep its character as a transhumance cheese.

  1. [arsial-sabina] ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultural development), Lazio patrimonio agroalimentare, tra biodiversità e tradizione, PAT sheet 'Caciotta della Sabina (semplice e alle erbe)', p. 155gov
  2. [lazio-scheda-sabina] Regione Lazio, Scheda analitica del prodotto, 'Caciotta della Sabina (semplice e alle erbe)', Poggio Mirteto (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  3. [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. 93 'Caciotta della Sabina (semplice e alle erbe)*' (* = hygiene derogation)gov
  4. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Caciotta della Sabina (semplice e alle erbe)'web