We are in the
Maremma hinterland, here, in 1961, thanks to the will of 21 local farmers, the
Caseificio Sociale di Manciano was born, which today boasts as many as 250 farmer members raising small and medium-sized sheep between
Manciano and its neighbouring municipalities, and this is where
Cacio di Fossa is born
The Project
We produce only with the best milk exclusively from
farms in the Maremma and it is thanks to this that our cheeses have an unmistakable flavour. We care deeply about the
wellbeing of the sheep, and we take care of their diet, increasingly linked to
herbs and
native plant essences. Over time we have developed a project that combines the quality of sheep's milk with environmental sustainability. To achieve this we use both product and process innovation. A project involving the
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa, the
University of Pisa and the
University of Florence for their valuable
scientific contribution.
As many as ten
farmer members of the Caseificio Sociale have joined the project. The goal is to improve
milk quality, rediscovering
native plant essences resistant to summer drought, and working towards ensuring raw material availability throughout the year with longer grazing periods. Introducing sustainable farming practices. The aim is to guarantee
greater biodiversity and sustainability for the agricultural sector, both environmentally and economically.
Cacio di Fossa
the processing of "cacio" involves a ripening period of 60-70 days in the dairy's cold rooms. This is followed by ageing in the pits (characteristic caves dug into the tuff) of Sogliano al Rubicone. Here it ages for a period of 90 days. The âpit ageingâ (infossamento) takes place after the cheese has been enclosed in canvas sacks and the pit has been sealed. At the end of this particular ageing process, the cheese's physical appearance changes considerably, becoming rather irregular. It is in fact packed tightly together in order to limit the amount of air inside the cave.
But it is above all its organoleptic characteristics that change; the anaerobic fermentations that develop inside these chambers, in fact, give the cheese that flavour and that intense aroma that make it very distinctive, if not truly unique.
Ageing:Â 180 days
Product availability:Â all year round
Storage temperature: 6-8 °C
Weight of whole wheel:Â approx. 0.850 Kg
Dimensions of whole wheel (diameter x height):Â irregular
Try it with: It pairs well with nuts. Try it with
chestnut honey. Excellent with
caramelised figs. Cacio di Fossa is also good
grated for preparing
passatelli or a
bold spaghetti dish. The delightfully sweet
peach jam pairs beautifully with the cacio, creating a lovely balance.
