APULICA / CHEESES
Conciato romano cheese
Slow Food Presidium · PAT · Cheeses · Campania
In brief
- A cheese from Castel di Sasso in the province of Caserta, made from cow's, sheep's or goat's milk set with kid rennet. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Conciato romano)
- The small rounds are cured with pasta cooking water or with oil, vinegar and chilli, then aged in terracotta amphorae. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Conciato romano)
- The Presidium's rules require at least six months' ageing; the taste can become very sharp. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Conciato romano)
History and origin
Some consider Conciato Romano the oldest Italian cheese and, despite its name, trace it back to the Samnite civilisation. Its preserving and maturing techniques certainly recall very old practices, born at the dawn of farming and herding.
In dialect it is called caso conzato, a corruption of «cacio conciato», cheese that has been treated with long, laborious care. The Campania Region describes it as a cheese made for centuries in the province of Caserta, by long-established farms around Pontelatone and Castel di Sasso and the nearby Caiatine Hills.
Slow Food calls it a kind of «resurrected» cheese: once treated and sealed in jars, the small cheeses change profoundly over the months. Today Conciato Romano is protected by a Slow Food Presidium.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Conciato romano · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caso conzato o conciato romano (prodotto tradizionale)
Area and method of production
Cow's, sheep's or goat's milk is used, in varying proportions, warmed to 30-35 degrees and curdled with natural kid rennet. After about half an hour the curd is broken into hazelnut-sized grains, left to settle, separated from the whey and put into fuscelle, where it is pressed by hand. The small cheeses, of 200-400 grams, are salted by hand and dried in the «casale», a wooden frame protected by a mosquito net.
Then comes the treatment. The cheeses are washed with the cooking water of pettole, home-made pasta, dried and treated with an emulsion of olive oil, wine vinegar and wild herbs such as mint and thyme; another tradition coats them with oil, vinegar, piperna and ground chilli.
Finally they are packed into earthenware jars, today also glass jars in the first stage, to keep an eye on the natural moulds. During maturing they are turned, cleaned and treated again. The Presidium's rules require at least six months; the cheeses can stay in the jars for up to two years.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Conciato romano · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caso conzato o conciato romano (prodotto tradizionale)
How to recognise it
Conciato Romano is a small cheese, between 200 and 400 grams, with a distinctive texture and a penetrating, lingering aroma. The repeated treatments during its months in the jar give it an intense, aromatic flavour.
On the nose Slow Food describes notes of alcohol and ripe fruit; on the palate it has great personality, which can reach a very marked spiciness. It is a cheese for lovers of bold flavours, and its character changes a great deal with the length of maturing, from six months to two years.
It is made all year round, avoiding the hottest periods.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Conciato romano · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caso conzato o conciato romano (prodotto tradizionale)
In the kitchen
The strong flavour of Conciato Romano finds a good balance with sweet pairings. Slow Food suggests lemon or fig jams, chestnut or strawberry-tree honey and fairly aromatic quince pastes, which soften its spiciness without hiding it.
It advises against ripe fruit, however: its aromas overlap with those of the cheese, which already has notes of ripe fruit, and the whole loses clarity. It is best served in small portions, as a tasting cheese, letting everyone discover its intensity.
Where to taste it
Conciato Romano comes from the province of Caserta: Castel di Sasso, Pontelatone and the nearby Caiatine Hills. These are inland Campanian hills, where a few farms carry on a long, patient craft.
Since it is made all year and matures for months, it can be found in any season. The best way to get to know it is to look for it directly from the area's producers, during a trip into the Caserta hinterland.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Conciato romano · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura — Caso conzato o conciato romano (prodotto tradizionale)
Protection
- Slow Food Presidium — conciato-romano (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Conciato romano)
- Traditional agri-food product (PAT) — Campania, n. 108, 26th revision (Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali (Masaf))
When
- The sources consulted give no months.