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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Emilia-Romagna

Pecorino maturato in grotta

Ewe milk is set with a plant coagulant, broken, moulded in baskets, salted and ripened for at least three months at the dairy. In late July the wheels are sewn into cotton sacks in groups of 14 and lowered into the damp galleries of an old sulphur mine at Predappio Alta. They come out in early November with a soft, rindless surface and a strong, savoury aroma. Made in 5 steps over 6 months. The longest step, ripen at the dairy, takes at least 3 months (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…). Lactic acid bacteria of the milk and Lactic cultures, when added do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 monthsReported[onaf-grotta-er]Ripen at the dairy
Temperature12 °CReported[onaf-grotta-er]Lower into the sulphur mine
Fully documentedCheese6 monthsPAT (traditional food product, Emilia-Romagna)Family: Formaggio di fossa (pit-ripened)More cave- and pit-ripened cheesesMore from Italy

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give times but no amounts. Before the cave a cheese weighs 1.0–2.5 kg.
Whole ewe milk · Raw or pasteurised, from local flocks; made March to May[onaf-grotta-er][er-grotta]
Lactic cultures (optional)[onaf-grotta-er]
Plant (vegetable) coagulant · The regional sheet calls it essential; it gives a sweet and bitter note[er-grotta][onaf-grotta-er]
Salt · Dry salt or brine[onaf-grotta-er]
Olive oil and bay leaves (optional) · For keeping the cheese[er-grotta][onaf-grotta-er]
Starter: none, or lactic cultures

Total time across the recorded steps: 6 months

Start
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shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria

What changes: A plant coagulant sets the ewe milk in about half an hour

Step 1 of 5
Set with a plant coagulant
Time
30 min
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
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

It uses a plant coagulant, not animal rennet, and finishes for three months in cotton sacks inside a damp sulphur mine. It is sold almost only by the village Pro Loco, mainly at the November Festa dei Vignaioli.

Milk
Whole ewe milk, raw or pasteurised, made March to May
Ripening
At least 3 months at the dairy, then about 3 months in the mine (late July to early November)
Rind
Absent or barely visible; the surface softens and fuses into the paste in the cave
Size
1.0–2.5 kg; cylinder ø 14–20 cm, side 6–10 cm, often misshapen after the cave
Cave effect
In a study of pecorino finished for 35 days in a tuff cave at Santarcangelo di Romagna (14.8 °C, 98 % humidity), the cheese lost 1.7 % of its weight, against 12.8 % in a dairy ripening room

Related ferments

Safety

The milk may be raw. 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

Cheese has been finished in the Predappio Alta sulphur mine for more than 30 years. The mine, long worked for sulphur, is now run by the local Pro Loco as a visitor site.

  1. [er-grotta] Regione Emilia-Romagna, Agricoltura, caccia e pesca, Prodotti tradizionali, Formaggi, 'Pecorino maturato in grotta' (updated 18 December 2025)gov
  2. [onaf-grotta-er] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Pecorino maturato in grotta', PAT Regione Emilia-Romagna (23rd regional PAT list, 2023)web
  3. [caffarri2009] Caffarri E. 2009, Studio della maturazione di formaggi pecorino stagionati in stabilimento e in grotta, PhD thesis, Università di Bolognapaper
  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