Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Lazio

Squarquaglione dei Monti LepiniSquarquaglione

Squarquaglione is a fresh, unsalted cheese of raw sheep milk set with lamb rennet paste at 35 °C. Chopped walnuts go into the curd, and it is moulded in wicker baskets between two layers of local honey. It is kept cold and eaten within a few days, often as a dessert. Made in 6 steps over 24 h – 4 days. The longest step, keep cold briefly, takes 24 h – 4 days (Regione Lazio) and runs at 4–6 °C (Regione Lazio). Native flora of the raw sheep milk does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step24 h – 4 daysSet[lazio-scheda][onaf-sheet]Keep cold briefly
Temperature4–6 °CSet[lazio-scheda][onaf-sheet]Keep cold briefly

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sources give temperatures and times but no amounts. The cheeses are small, of no fixed size or weight.
Raw whole sheep milk · From two milkings; only the evening milk is chilled[lazio-scheda][onaf-sheet]
Lamb rennet paste (caglio in pasta)[lazio-scheda][onaf-sheet]
Chopped walnut kernels · Stirred into the curd after the whey is drawn off[lazio-scheda][onaf-sheet]
Honey from the Mediterranean scrub of the Monti Lepini · A layer under the curd and another on top[lazio-scheda][onaf-sheet]
No salt[lazio-scheda][onaf-sheet]
No starter[lazio-scheda][onaf-sheet]
Starter: none

Total time across the recorded steps: 24 h – 4 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Starting material: raw whole sheep milk in a copper cauldron

Step 1 of 6
Gather the raw milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk is not heat-treated and no cultures are added. Output: raw whole sheep milk.

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

Unlike other fresh sheep cheeses of Lazio it gets no salt at all. Walnuts go into the curd and local honey lines and covers the moulds, so it is eaten within days as a dessert.

Rind
None; white surface streaked with honey and walnuts
Size
Small cylinders; size and weight vary
Season
Made in winter and spring

Related ferments

Safety

The cheese is made from raw milk, gets no salt and is eaten after only 1–4 days at 4–6 °C, so it must be kept cold. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and immunocompromised people to avoid raw-milk cheeses.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (named for raw-milk cheeses in general).

History and sources

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

It has long been part of local cooking, and was the lunch of farm workers during the olive harvest.

  1. [lazio-scheda] Regione Lazio, Scheda analitica del prodotto 'Squarquaglione dei Monti Lepini' (regional PAT sheet, Sermoneta), copy hosted by ONAFgov
  2. [pat-lazio-2026] Regione Lazio and ARSIAL, PAT Lazio 2026, Lazio section of the national list of traditional food products (L. 238/2016 art. 12), no. 127 'Squarquaglione dei Monti Lepini*' (* = hygiene derogation)gov
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Squarquaglione dei Monti Lepini'web
  4. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Squarquaglione dei monti Lepini' (id 872)web
  5. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov