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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Lazio

Caprino presamico (di latte vaccino) di SupinoCaprino "presamico" di Supino

A fresh rennet cheese, not a ripened one. Pasteurised cow milk, sometimes mixed with goat milk, is set with calf rennet at 32–37 °C, broken to walnut size and drained in hoops for 12–24 hours, then salted and sold. The sheets name no starter and no ripening, so any souring is slight and not documented. Made in 5 steps over 13 h – 25 h. The longest step, hoop and drain, takes 12–24 h (ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultura…).

Key numbers
Main step12–24 hSet[arsial-presamico]Hoop and drain
Temperature65–75 °CSet[arsial-presamico]Pasteurise the milk

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheet gives temperatures and times but no batch size. Each cheese weighs about 250 g.
Morning cow milk · Sometimes mixed goat and cow milk; chilled to 0–4 °C for a few hours or used at once[arsial-presamico]
Calf liquid rennet[arsial-presamico]
Salt · Dry salt or brine[arsial-presamico]
Basil, oregano, thyme, chives, rocket, wild edible herbs, green pepper or chilli (optional) · Flavoured type, added while the milk sets[arsial-presamico]
Starter: none named

Total time across the recorded steps: 13 h – 25 h

Start
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65–75 °C

What changes: The morning cow milk is pasteurised at 65–75 °C for a few seconds

Step 1 of 5
Pasteurise the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
65–75 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: pasteurised morning 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

Its name says goat, but it has been made from cow milk, or mixed cow and goat milk, for 30–40 years, since the mountain goat herds were given up. It is sold fresh, with no ripening.

Rind
None; slightly rough white surface, sometimes coated in herbs
Size
About 250 g; 8–12 cm across

Related ferments

Variants

  • SemplicePlain.
  • AromatizzatoHerbs or spices added while the milk sets.

Safety

The milk is pasteurised at 65–75 °C before renneting. It is a fresh cheese that is not ripened.

History and sources

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

The name comes from the old goat cheese of the area, kept so locals would recognise it after the goats were replaced by cows. Craft cheesemaking in Supino is recorded from 1940, when one maker began in an old brick kiln with a copper cauldron (the callaro); three generations have kept the method since.

  1. [arsial-presamico] ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency for agricultural development), Lazio patrimonio agroalimentare, tra biodiversità e tradizione, PAT sheet 'Caprino "presamico" (di latte vaccino) di Supino', p. 161gov
  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. 102 'Caprino presamico (di latte vaccino) di Supino'gov
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Caprino presamico (di latte vaccino) di Supino'web