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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Marche

Pecorino in botte

A Marche pecorino of raw ewe milk, already ripened for 40–60 days, is wrapped in walnut or chestnut leaves, or layered with herbs or grape pomace, and shut in oak casks, barrels or vats for 20–90 days to ferment again. After the cask is opened the cheeses air on wooden boards for at least 10 days. Made in 6 steps over 2.4 months – 6.3 months. The longest step, ripen before the cask, takes 40 days – 3 months (Regione Marche 2014). Lactic acid bacteria of the raw-milk base pecorino and Lactic cultures, which the base-pecorino sheet allows if they do not change its character do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step40 days – 3 monthsSet[marche-botte][onaf-botte]Ripen before the cask
Temperature45–48 °CSet[marche-pecorino]Make the base pecorino

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe decree gives times but no amounts. Base wheels weigh 1–2.5 kg; medium and small wheels are preferred for the cask.
Marche pecorino, medium to small wheels · Raw local ewe milk, local natural rennet, dry-salted; ripened 40–60 days before the cask[marche-botte][marche-pecorino]
Walnut or chestnut leaves · To wrap the cheeses[marche-botte][onaf-botte]
Herbs (savory, nepitella, bay, thyme) or grape pomace (optional) · Layered with the cheeses instead of, or with, leaves[marche-botte][onaf-botte]
Verdicchio or local red wine (optional) · The cheeses are sometimes submerged in it[marche-botte][onaf-botte]
Starter: none needed; the base pecorino may have lactic cultures added

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.4 months – 6.3 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
45–48 °Cshapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria

What changes: Raw ewe milk is set with local rennet and the curd is pressed into hoops by hand

Step 1 of 6
Make the base pecorino
Time
20–30 min
Set
Temperature
45–48 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: young pecorino.

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

The cheese is not made differently; it is finished. A two-month pecorino is shut in oak casks with walnut or chestnut leaves, herbs, pomace or wine for 20–90 days so it ferments again, then aired on boards.

Milk
Raw local ewe milk (the base Marche pecorino)
Ripening
40–60 days (90 if wine is used), then 20–90 days in the cask and at least 10 days of airing
Rind
Dark, thin, printed with leaves, with moulds; reddish with red pomace
Size
Medium and small wheels preferred; the base pecorino is 1–2.5 kg, ø 14–20 cm, 6–10 cm high

Related ferments

Variants

  • In foglieWrapped in walnut or chestnut leaves.
  • Alle erbeLayered with savory, nepitella, bay and thyme.
  • In vinacciaLayered with grape pomace; reddish rind with red grapes.
  • Nel vinoSubmerged in Verdicchio or local red wine after 90 days of ripening.

Safety

The base pecorino is made from raw milk. In a challenge study, E. coli O157 added to raw ewe milk was still detectable in pecorino after 90 days of ripening, so clean milk matters.

Hazards the sources name: Escherichia coli O157 in raw ewe milk; in a challenge study it was still detectable in pecorino after 90 days of ripening.

History and sources

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

Castore Durante's Herbario nuovo (1585) already mentions leaves in contact with cheese. The regional sheet also cites local accounts and writing on Montefeltro food.

  1. [marche-botte] Regione Marche, decree of the dirigente P.F. Competitività e sviluppo dell'impresa agricola no. 73/CSI of 11 March 2014, annex B, PAT sheet 'Pecorino in botte'gov
  2. [marche-pecorino] Regione Marche, decree no. 73/CSI of 11 March 2014, annex B, PAT sheet 'Pecorino' (the base cheese)gov
  3. [onaf-botte] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), product page 'Pecorino in botte', PAT Marche (id 422)web
  4. [centorotola2021] Centorotola G., Sperandii A.F., Tucci P. et al. 2021, Survival rate of Escherichia coli O157 in artificially contaminated raw and thermized ewe milk in different Pecorino cheese production processes, International Journal of Food Microbiology 347:109175, doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109175 (abstract)paper