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Cheese from Italy, Abruzzo

Giuncatella abruzzese

Raw whole sheep milk, sometimes with goat milk and a little whey starter, is set at 36–37 °C with animal rennet or, locally, fig latex in 30–60 minutes. The curd is cut to maize-kernel size, ladled into rush or plastic baskets, lightly pressed and turned twice. The unsalted, very moist fresh cheese is eaten within 2 days.

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedFarm process with no fixed batch size or doses. A cheese weighs 0.5–0.8 kg. It is not salted when eaten fresh.
Raw whole sheep milk, with goat milk in some makes[onaf-sheet]
Whey or milk starter carrying a thermophilic lactic flora (optional)[onaf-sheet]
Animal rennet, preferably lamb or kid; or fig latex diluted in water[onaf-sheet]
Rocket, pink pepper or chilli (flavoured versions)[onaf-sheet]
Starteroptional whey or milk starter (thermophilic)

Total time across the recorded steps: 1.5 h – 2 h

Start
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What changes: Raw sheep milk is filtered into the vat; a little whey starter may go in

Step 1 of 5
Filter the milk, add starter if used
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk is filtered into the vat; whey or milk starter may be added to help acidification.

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

At a glance

Raw whole sheep milk, sometimes with goat milk and a little whey starter, is set at 36–37 °C with animal rennet or, locally, fig latex in 30–60 minutes. The curd is cut to maize-kernel size, ladled into rush or plastic baskets, lightly pressed and turned twice. The unsalted, very moist fresh cheese is eaten within 2 days. Made in 5 steps over 1.5 h – 2 h. The longest step, set with rennet or fig latex, takes 30 min – 1 h (ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters)) and runs at 36–37 °C (ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters)).

Key numbers
Main step30 min – 1 hReported[onaf-sheet][abruzzo-atlante]Set with rennet or fig latex
Temperature36–37 °CReported[onaf-sheet][abruzzo-atlante]Set with rennet or fig latex

What makes this one different

A transhumance fresh ewe curd, unsalted and eaten within two days. Fig-latex coagulation still survives locally, and the name comes from the rush (giunco) baskets once used.

Rind
None; white; basket marks
Size
Cylinder or truncated cone, 13–18 cm across, 4–8 cm high, 0.5–0.8 kg; so moist it slumps into a flat 'focaccia'
Moisture and fat
Humidity 75 %, fat 36 % of the dry matter (the Atlante gives these as indicative values only)
Salting for longer keeping
Eaten fresh it is not salted; a cheese to be sold more than 48 hours after making has its surface salted and turns ivory or pale straw yellow while the inside stays milk white (Atlante).

Related ferments

Variants

  • flavoured: rocket, pink pepper or chilli

Safety

Made from raw milk and not salted when eaten at once; it is kept at about 4 °C and eaten within 2 days. CDC says raw milk can carry Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, E. coli, Listeria, Brucella and Salmonella. It says children under 5, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with weak immunity are at higher risk of serious illness. CDC says pregnant women, newborns, adults over 65 and people with weak immunity should avoid any cheese made from raw milk unless it is heated to 165 °F (74 °C) or until steaming hot.

History and sources

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

A food of transhumance, eaten fresh by shepherds moving flocks between Abruzzo and Apulia alongside long-keeping foods. Before plastic baskets it was packed in rush baskets, or in large wild gourd leaves.

  1. [abruzzo-atlante] Regione Abruzzo, Atlante dei prodotti tipici (Atlas of typical products), entry 'Giuncatella abruzzese', p. 102 (Italian and English); read from the web.archive.org copy of 25 Oct 2022, as the Region's own host did not answergov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Giuncatella abruzzese'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Giuncatella abruzzese' (id 324)web
  4. [cdc-raw-milk] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Raw Milk (31 January 2025)gov
  5. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov