Raw milk Fossa cheese

 

 

11.00 44.00 

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The origin of the “ditch” goes far back in time, the most famous are in Sogliano al Rubicone, but there are also elsewhere.

The shapes of our semi-aged raw milk Pecorino are brought to the farm Greppo in Montepulciano, where there are the famous underground tuff ditches for the aging of cheeses (the only certified tuff ditches in Tuscany). Only a handful of locations throughout Italy follow this ancient tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages – and we were lucky enough to score points in a ditch for maturing our cheeses.

It is a very particular refinement, it is precisely the environment that determines the uniqueness of this refinement.

The semi-aged cheese of about 2 months, compact, well peeled and cleaned from any mold, is placed in cotton bags and stacked inside the pits until it fills all the available space. Cylindrical pits are sealed when they are full. Anaerobic fermentation takes place inside the pits, the temperature is constant around 21 degrees and humidity almost saturated. The cheese deforms, sweats, a big pile in apnea that lasts about 100 days, against any dairy logic (the cheese would need other conditions to mature well), but the result is sensational: a strong cheese but full of delicate aromas, different shape in form, from year to year.

€ 44,00 per kg – PRO KG

Cheese maturation: 5 to 10 months (of which 100 days in pit)

Animal breed: Sardinian sheep

Type of cheese: semi-hard pasta, variable shape in shape

Place of production: Soc. Agr. Podere Il Casale s.r.l. – Pienza – Val d’Orcia

 

Nutritional values per 100 g:

Energy: 1424(kj)/343kcal

Protein: 26 g

Fat: 26 g (of which saturated fatty acids 19g)

Carbohydrates: <0.5g (of which sugars <0.5g)

Salt: 2.1 g

How is a Fossa cheese like?

The cheeses coming out of the ditch are completely transformed in taste and shape. Due to the weight and moisture in the ditch the cylindrical cheese wheels have developed a very peculiar irregular shape looking more like a “roundish rock” in the end with a yellowish-brownish touch.

The taste is very strong and definitely for lovers of non-timid cheeses. The consistency is a bit crumbly, but suitable for being grated as well – or even melted. The rind of our fossa cheese is not edible.

A nice pairing is with a strong chestnut honey, or also a plum-marmalade. Wine wise you should opt for a full bodied red or even a dessert wine.

To preserve our raw milk cheese, which is very different from a pasteurized milk cheese, you have to follow some very simple but fundamental rules to preserve its taste and quality; first of all the cheese must breathe, so we do not recommend to put it in a vacuum, which in some cases is still inevitable.  If it has a little ‘sweaty and you find it slightly damp you can wipe with a cloth or kitchen paper.

AGED and MATURED CHEESES

  • It needs a place with a constant temperature between 10° and 15°, humidity and ventilation like a cellar. If you do not have a cellar, you can put the cheeses in the coldest part of the fridge (between +4°C/+8°C)
  • Store them in sheets of food paper. The paper being porous protects the cheese from exposure to air but at the same time allows it to breathe. The paper must not be too narrow or too large
  • Mold: rub the crust with a little olive oil and let it dry

All our cheeses are certified ORGANIC except for those aged in Cave or Fossa. In fact, these cheeses are “downgraded” from the certification (although they are 100% organic) because the cave where they are aged does not have an organic certificate.