In the Cilento the goat is right at home, as we realise every time we drive up towards the inland villages and meet them along the mountain roads. Their milk gives rise to a cheese with a curious name, cacioricotta caprino del Cilento, which we love grated over pasta or eaten in shavings. Here is what it is.
Neither cacio nor ricotta, but both
The name explains what makes it special. Cacioricotta owes its name to a particular coagulation technique: the milk is first brought almost to the boil and then curdled. This way, both the cheese proteins (the cacio) and those that normally stay in the whey and become ricotta coagulate together. The result is a unique cheese, halfway between the two.
The Campania Region has included it in its list of traditional agri-food products (PAT), among the cheeses. The listing links its production to the Cilento, in the province of Salerno, where it has long been made and sold.
How it is made
The process described by the Region follows a few key steps:
- fresh goat's milk is heated until it boils;
- it is left to cool naturally to about 37 degrees;
- kid rennet is added;
- the curd is broken up vigorously and gathered into fuscelle, the typical wicker baskets, where it drains off the whey.
We like to think that the same basket that gives its name to Ricotta di fuscella also gives this cheese its shape.
Fresh or aged
Cacioricotta is cylindrical in shape, with a straw-yellow colour that deepens over time, as does its flavour. It is eaten fresh, soft and delicate, or aged: in that case it becomes hard, compact and flaky, excellent for grating. We use it this way on summer tomato sauces and on homemade pasta, where it adds a savoury, slightly tangy note reminiscent of goat's milk.
Where to taste it and what is nearby
You will find it in the villages of the Cilento hinterland, from Vallo della Lucania to the villages of the Park, all the way to the coast at Agropoli and Pollica. We suggest pairing it with a walk through the places described in Pioppi and the Mediterranean diet and a taste of Fico Bianco del Cilento DOP. For a full picture of the area read The Cilento: what to do and what to see, and for the other protected products our guide to Campania's DOP and IGP products. If you love cheese, try Caciocavallo Silano DOP too.
Sources: Campania Region, PAT entry “Cacioricotta caprino del Cilento”; Campania Region, PAT list of cheeses.
Top photo (Vallo della Lucania): Miki.mod at Italian Wikipedia (Original text: Michele Modica), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
