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Cheese from Italy, Campania

Provolone del Monaco PDO

Raw cow milk, never heated above 40 °C, is set at 34–42 °C with kid paste rennet, alone or with liquid calf rennet, with no added starter. The curd is cooked to 48–52 °C, left to sour in hemp cloths until it stretches, then stretched in water at 85–95 °C into an elongated melon shape and brined. The cheeses dry in pairs for 10–20 days and ripen at 8–15 °C for at least six months.

Fully documentedCheese6.2 months – 6.6 monthsPDO (EU; application published 2009)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe; it gives no doses. Finished cheeses weigh 2.5–8 kg, with a yield of at most 9 kg per hectolitre of milk.
Raw cow milk from cows within 230 days of lactationThe milk may not be heated above 40 °C; it is used after each milking without farm cooling, or daily with farm cooling[pm-oj2009]
Kid paste rennet, at least 50%, with or without natural liquid calf rennet[pm-oj2009]
Salt, as saturated brine[pm-oj2009]
Starternone added; the cheese is made from raw milk without starter addition

Total time across the recorded steps: 6.2 months – 6.6 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
up to 40 °C

What changes: Raw milk from the Lattari hills is used without heating above 40 °C

Step 1 of 9
Collect the raw milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 40 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
S. thermophilus
S. macedonicus
Lactobacilli
Lactobacillus

From cows within 230 days of lactation, fed at least 40% of dry matter as forage and leafy prunings (frascame) from the area. Milk from the Agerolese breed gives the cheese its character; the label states its minimum share.

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 cow milk, never heated above 40 °C, is set at 34–42 °C with kid paste rennet, alone or with liquid calf rennet, with no added starter. The curd is cooked to 48–52 °C, left to sour in hemp cloths until it stretches, then stretched in water at 85–95 °C into an elongated melon shape and brined. The cheeses dry in pairs for 10–20 days and ripen at 8–15 °C for at least six months. Made in 9 steps over 6.2 months – 6.6 months. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 5.9 months (European Commission 2006) and runs at 8–15 °C (European Commission 2006). Streptococcus thermophilus and Streptococcus macedonicus, which prevailed during making and survived 9 months of ripening, with lactobacilli of the casei group, chiefly Lactobacillus (now Lacticaseibacillus) rhamnosus and Lacticaseibacillus casei/paracasei (19.4% of isolates) and Streptococcus macedonicus (19.1%) in one commercial run; Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Streptococcus thermophilus led the bacterial community in three of four wheels ripened 623 days do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 5.9 monthsSet[pm-oj2009][pm-onaf]Ripen
Temperature8–15 °CSet[pm-oj2009]Ripen

What makes this one different

Made only from raw milk with kid paste rennet and no added starter, and ripened at least six months, often in tufa caves.

Milk
Raw cow milk, never heated above 40 °C; Agerolese breed milk gives the character
Ripening
At least 180 days (six months) at 8–15 °C
Size
Slightly elongated melon or pear without a head, 2.5–8 kg, marked by raffia ties into at least 6 faces
Composition
Fat in dry matter at least 40.5%

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is raw and is never heated above 40 °C. The curd is stretched in water at 85–95 °C and the cheese ripens at least six months. ANSES advises pregnant women, people with weak immunity, people over 65 and young children to avoid raw-milk cheese, except cooked pressed cheeses such as Gruyère or Comté.

History and sources

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

Farmers of the Lattari hills shipped their cheeses to Naples by rowing boat at night, wrapped in large cloaks like a monk's habit; porters at the market began calling the carrier "the monk" and the cheese Provolone del Monaco.

  1. [pm-oj2009] European Commission, Publication of an application under Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006, 'Provolone del Monaco', Official Journal of the EU C 140, 20.6.2009, p. 4 (2009/C 140/04) (copy hosted by ONAF)spec
  2. [pm-onaf] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Provolone del Monaco'web
  3. [aponte2008] Aponte M., Fusco V., Andolfi R., Coppola S. 2008, Lactic acid bacteria occurring during manufacture and ripening of Provolone del Monaco cheese, International Dairy Journal 18(4):403-413 (abstract)paper
  4. [scarano2024] Scarano L. et al. 2024, Provolone del Monaco PDO cheese, Lactic microflora, biogenic amines and volatilome characterization, Food Research International 197:115257 (abstract)paper
  5. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov