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Fossa cheese is a specialty of two small towns bordering
Sogliano al Rubicone, in Romagna and Talamello in the Marche. Its origins
are of a very strange nature, and there has been a lot of speculation
regarding these. In fact it is said that in the XV century, in order to save
their food supplies from being robbed by the French army of King Carlo VIII,
the inhabitants of Sogliano al Rubiconde, hid their local cheeses in
tufaceous holes (special closed fosses) in the soil. It is evident that the
name "Fossa" Cheese was born from this procedure, which is still in use. The
maturing conditions are what give this cheese its uniqueness. The small
shapes of Pecorino or Caciotta of mixed milk, arrive from the nearby
Montefeltro or from the area of Siena around the middle of August. After
having disinfected the holes/fosses with fire and having upholstered/covered
the walls with straw, the cheeses are left to mature inside sacks made of
jute, placed in layers and separated by wooden planks and sand. On the 25th
November these are opened: the months spent in closed warm conditions and
under the pressure of heavy weights, deforms the cheese visibly. This
procedure also lets the cheese re-ferment and obtain it's unique flavor,
impossible to obtain in any other method except by using this procedure.
As usually happens with particularly strange and unique product, there are
many counterfeit productions of this cheese. This includes variations in the
way the cheese is worked, the place used for ageing, the various periods of
production. However we guarantee, as with all our products, the authenticity
and the quality of the workmanship of this cheese.
Our suggestions
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FOSSA
CHEESE
