Casiello

Product An aged raw cheese from goat's milk, made by hand. It is sometimes salted after drying. It has a very rapid lactic maturation.

Shape Casiello has a spheroid form. The cheese comes wrapped in fern leaves and tied with a plant twig. It weighs about 1.1 lbs. and has a diameter of 3"-4".

Characteristics It has a tender and compact paste, colored white. When cut it is rather homogenous, with numerous holes and fragments of Nepeta. The taste is fresh, slightly aromatic due to the presence of Nepeta and the fern wrapping. It has a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Consumption Casiello is not used in recipes. It is a table cheese, to be eaten fresh.

Production The milk, from free-range goats, must come from two milkings. It is left to rest at room temperature for at least one hour, then filtered through a layer of braided ferns. The product is put into copper cauldrons and brought to a boil over an open flame. A handful of dried Nepeta is then added, and the mixture is left to cool to 95°F. Rennet paste from goat milk, dissolved in warm milk, is then added. After 30 minutes coagulation occurs, and after another 15 minutes the mixture hardens. It is then broken into tiny grains with a wooden stick called a "spino." The cheese is then gathered and molded by hand. If casiello is not eaten fresh, it may be dried and salted repeatedly within a 24 hour period. The techniques utilized in the production of Casiello are a variation of those employed in the classic production of "cacioricotta."

Production Area Casiello is produced in the area around Potenza, in Basilicata, in the months of July, August and September. Since sheep no longer produce milk by this time, the dairy farmer is free to concentrate on the production of goat cheeses.

Name The cheese is commonly known by its name in dialect ("casieddu ca' nepita"). "Satureja Nepeta" is a herbaceous plant which gives the product a wild mint flavor. The plant has pointy leaves and its white flowers are lightly speckled with pink. It is rich in essential oils and has anti-fungal properties.

Storage The cheese may be kept for up to one week at room temperature, after which it hardens, turns yellow, loses its flavor and becomes bitter.