Pit-aged Cheese

HISTORY
The maturing technique whereby cheese is left to mature in pits has unknown origins. However, this particular cheese had been mentioned in two inventories of 1497 and 1498 indicating that the owner of the cheese was not the owner of the pit, witnessing the practice of renting pits also used for storing wheat and protecting it against lootings of soldiers. Traditionally the burying phase would take place in August-September and the reopening phase of the pits on 25 November, St. Catherine's day. There were two main reasons why cheese was stored in pits in autumn: firstly, the period of maximum milk production was (and still is, although to a lesser extent) spring-summer thanks to a greater abundance of pasture and therefore the need to turn it into cheese and store it for periods over less productive periods of time; secondly by using this special storage method you could enjoy over winter the very same quality and freshness of the cheese produced in summer.

CHARACTERISTICS
Pit-aged Cheese appears to be extremely deformed compared to the initial cylindrical shape both because of the anaerobic fermentation process that causes softening and therefore deformation of the cheese; and because the way cheese rounds are all stacked one on the other inside pits. The maturing process also makes it impossible to distinguish between the crust and the internal part. Its colour can vary from white to pale yellow and its taste is mild, almost sweet at first and then increasingly sharp with a slightly bitter aftertaste. It has a peculiar odour that reminds of undergrowth humus.
PRODUCTION AREA
Pit-aged Cheese of Sogliano al Rubicone owes its name to the fact that it is matured in special underground environments, the "pits", probably of medieval origins, were dug into the tuff in the village of Sogliano al Rubicone which is located in the province of Forlì-Cesena bordering the provinces of Rimini and Pesaro-Urbino. These three provinces typically represent the production area.
FOLLOW THE TASTE!
Come to taste it:
Pit-aged Cheese Fair in Sogliano al Rubicone (FC), 21, 28 November and 5 December
Fossa, Tartufo e Cerere in Mondaino (RN), 21, 28 November
"Ambra di Talamello" Pit-aged Cheese Fair in Talamello (RN), 13, 14, 20, 21 November