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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Lazio

Caciotta mista ovi-vaccina del Lazio

Mixed ewe and cow milk is pasteurised, soured with a starter and set with calf or lamb rennet in 30–40 minutes. The curd is moulded raw or after cooking to 43 °C, held warm at 45–50 °C and salted. It is sold from one day old (primo sale) up to 30 days, ripened at 7–11 °C and treated with oil and vinegar. Made in 7 steps over 30 h – 32 days. The longest step, ripen with oil and vinegar, takes 24 h – 30 days (ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultura…) and runs at 7–11 °C (ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultura…). Mesophilic or thermophilic lactic starter cultures does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step24 h – 30 daysSet[arsial-ovivaccina]Ripen with oil and vinegar
Temperature7–11 °CSet[arsial-ovivaccina]Ripen with oil and vinegar

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheet gives temperatures and times but no batch size. A cheese weighs 0.7–1.6 kg on the ONAF sheet.
Ewe milk and cow milk · One or the other prevails, depending on the season[arsial-ovivaccina]
Mesophilic or thermophilic starter cultures[arsial-ovivaccina]
Calf liquid rennet or lamb paste rennet[arsial-ovivaccina]
Salt · Saturated brine or dry salt[arsial-ovivaccina]
Oil and vinegar · Rind treatment during ripening[arsial-ovivaccina]
Chilli (optional) · Mixed into the curd by some makers[arsial-ovivaccina]
Starter: mesophilic or thermophilic cultures added at 35–36 °C or 41 °C

Total time across the recorded steps: 30 h – 32 days

Start
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65–72 °C

What changes: Mixed ewe and cow milk is filtered and pasteurised at 65–72 °C

Step 1 of 7
Filter and pasteurise the milk
Time
0.2–0.4 min
Set
Temperature
65–72 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: pasteurised mixed 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 when ewe milk runs short, as a mixed-milk companion to Caciotta genuina romana. The method is close to the semi-cooked type of that cheese, but ripening is shorter and the taste sweeter.

Rind
Thin, soft, straw-yellow
Ripening
1 day (primo sale) to 30 days
Size
0.7–1.6 kg; cylinder with a 6 cm side (ONAF)

Related ferments

Variants

  • SemicottaCurd cooked to 43 °C.
  • A pasta crudaCurd not cooked.
  • Primo saleSold after about one day.
  • Al peperoncinoChilli in the curd.

Safety

The milk is pasteurised at 65–72 °C 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

Linked by tradition to Caciotta genuina romana, and made in the months when ewe milk falls.

  1. [arsial-ovivaccina] ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultural development), Lazio patrimonio agroalimentare, tra biodiversità e tradizione, PAT sheet 'Caciotta mista ovi-vaccina del Lazio', p. 159gov
  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. 100 'Caciotta mista ovi-vaccina del Lazio*' (* = hygiene derogation)gov
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Caciotta mista ovi-vaccina del Lazio'web