Caciocavallo cheese

Milk, Mesophilic culture, Coagulating enzyme, Sea salt

Heat on the stove: 10 min, Let it stand: 1 h, Cooking: 20 min, Slice: 10 min, Cooking: 20 min, Water bath: 2 h 30 min, Cooking: 20 min, Let it stand: 10 h, Let it stand: 1 day 11 h 10 min, Let it stand: 42 day

Caciocavallo cheese is a traditional Italian cheese that has a rich history and is one of the oldest cheeses in Italy.

The name “Caciocavallo” can be translated as “cheese on horseback,” which is related to the traditional method of its aging—cheese wheels are hung in pairs on wooden beams, resembling the position of a saddle on a horse.

Add starter culture and rennet

The milk (5 liters) must be 100% mature. That is, after milking, the milk should sit in the refrigerator overnight.

If desired, the milk can be pasteurized. In this case, calcium chloride must be added.

Heat the milk to 37 degrees.

Add mesophilic starter culture. And wait for one hour.

After one hour, add the milk-clotting rennet. Then mix well and stop the milk. After 20 minutes, check the curd for a clean break.

Forming the curds

When the curd is ready, cut the curds perpendicularly and parallel with a step of 1.5 centimeters. After that, cut horizontally and wait for 3 minutes.

After 3 minutes, remove the excess whey. Then, using a metal whisk, cut the curds smaller.

For this, simply stir it, first at the top of the pot, then in the middle, and finally at the bottom. Start stirring gently, then you can speed up.

Next, for 20 minutes, stir the curds with a spatula. At the same time, on the lowest heat, heat the cheese mass to 40 degrees.

Wait a little for the curds to settle. After that, strain the curds from the whey through cheesecloth.

Forming the cheese mass

Next, you need to raise the temperature of the whey to 45 degrees.

On top, like in a water bath, place a bowl with the cheese curds (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the whey). Cover with a lid and wrap with a blanket.

Keep the cheese curds like this for about 2 and a half hours.

During this time, the temperature of the whey should not decrease.

Kneading the cheese mass

Prepare a bowl with cold brine for salting (4 degrees).

After 2 and a half hours, cut a piece of the cheese mass and conduct a stretchability test by pouring hot water (75 degrees) over it and trying to stretch it after a while.

Before this, put on cotton gloves, and then rubber ones on top.

The piece of cheese mass should stretch well and not tear. If the cheese mass is not ready yet, wait another 30 minutes.

When the cheese mass is ready, cut half of it into 1-2 centimeter cubes. Place the cubes in a bowl with hot water. And start heating them while stirring with a spatula.

Preheat a pot of hot water so that the temperature does not drop below 75-80 degrees.

Occasionally pour some water from the bowl with hot water and cheese mass back into the pot. And instead, pour new, hotter water from the pot.

When the cubes stick together into one cheese mass, start kneading the mass in your hands, constantly folding it in half. This should be done about 20 times.

Forming and salting the cheese

When the consistency of the cheese is ready, first form a ball from it by pressing the edges of the cheese mass inward, as when making mozzarella. Then form a pouch. The area where the pouch is tied should not be too narrow, as we will be hanging the pouch, and it will stretch further.

Place the pouch in the brine.

The cheese weighing 800 grams should be kept in brine for about 10 hours.

Drying and aging the cheese

After that, place the cheese for drying in the refrigerator for about 1-1.5 days.

Then place it in a shrink wrap bag for aging.

To prevent the cheese from losing its shape, it can also be placed in a net.

To give the cheese the classic pear shape, hang it up. It should age for about 6 weeks.

If you do not place the cheese in a shrink wrap bag, you need to monitor it during the aging process. If mold appears, wash it off. The cheese should not come into contact with moisture. If moisture appears in the container where it is aging, wipe it off immediately.