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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Campania

Casuforte di StatiglianoCasuforte

Raw goat milk is set with kid rennet at room temperature straight after milking, drained in wicker baskets and dried for a few days. The small cheeses, with no salting recorded, then age 6–12 months, sometimes two years, in closed terracotta or glass jars, while surface moulds are cleaned off. Only one family still makes it. Made in 5 steps over 6.1 months – 2 years. The longest step, age in closed jars, takes 6 months – 2 years (ONAF technical sheet). Lactic acid bacteria of the raw goat milk does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step6 months – 2 yearsReported[onaf-sheet][pat-sheet]Age in closed jars
Fully documentedCheese6.1 months – 2 yearsPAT (traditional agri-food product, Regione Campania)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)More hard sheep and goat cheesesMore from Italy

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo fixed amounts; the family makes very small quantities. Each cheese weighs about 200 g; made September to April.
Raw whole goat milk · From goats grazing semi-wild pasture; each of the two daily milkings is made up separately[onaf-sheet]
Kid rennet paste · Made by the shepherds[onaf-sheet][pat-sheet]
Salt, possibly none · No salting is recorded; the ONAF sheet says it is not salted but marks this as uncertain[onaf-sheet]
Starter: none added; raw milk and kid rennet paste

Total time across the recorded steps: 6.1 months – 2 years

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria

What changes: Goat milk fresh from milking is set with kid rennet at room temperature

Step 1 of 5
Set the fresh milk with kid rennet at room temperature
Time
3 h
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Moulds

The milk is set as soon as it is milked, without heating. Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
soft gel
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

Casuforte is set at room temperature, with no salting recorded, and aged up to two years in jars, yet its paste stays soft and creamy. The nearby caprino conciato is salted, washed with oil and vinegar and coated with thyme before jarring.

Rind
Thin, rough, fairly hard, slightly oily; ivory turning reddish with age
Size
About 0.2 kg; small irregular cylinder
Season
Made September to April

Related ferments

Safety

A raw-milk cheese aged for months, possibly without salt. No safety study of it was found.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet says its making is recorded since pre-Roman times and is cited in many gastronomy and travel books. Goat herding has been abandoned locally, and one family keeps the hand-made tradition.

  1. [onaf-sheet] ONAF technical sheet, Casuforte di Statigliano, compiled from the Regione Campania PAT recordweb
  2. [pat-sheet] Regione Campania, Prodotti tradizionali, Casuforte di Statigliano (updated 13 March 2015)gov
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Casuforte di Statigliano' (id 1160)web