Casciotta d'Urbino

Casciotta d'Urbino is a cylindrical, semi-cooked-curd cheese made from whole sheep's milk and whole cows' milk, produced across the entire province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. The specification fixes the sheep's milk proportion at seventy percent and the cows' milk proportion at thirty percent, distinguishing it from mixed-milk cheeses with different ratios.

About this designation

Casciotta d'Urbino holds PDO status, registered under file number PDO-IT-0005 in the EU register (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012987), with protection granted on 21 June 1996. The designated geographical area is the entire territory of the province of Pesaro and Urbino. The specification requires that the cheese be made from whole sheep's milk at seventy percent and whole cows' milk at thirty percent. The curds are semi-cooked and obtained by adding rennet to the combined milks, brought to a temperature of 35°C. The curds are then pressed manually in special moulds traditionally made by local craftsmen, after which salting and ripening take place. The form is cylindrical with a low base and rounded sides. The specification links the product's character to the particular climatic and soil conditions of the sheep-rearing areas within the province, where animals are kept mainly on natural pastureland, and to the local craft tradition of producing the distinctive moulds. The cheese is marketed with a label specifically mentioning the name of origin. The applicant group responsible for the designation is the Consorzio Tutela Casciotta d'Urbino. Control at the time of registration was assigned to the Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle Foreste — Ispettorato Centrale Repressione Frodi, Rome.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 21 June 1996 under file number PDO-IT-0005 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012987).
• The specification fixes the milk blend at exactly seventy percent sheep's milk and thirty percent cows' milk; no other ratio is permitted.
• Curds are pressed manually in moulds traditionally made by craftsmen local to the province of Pesaro and Urbino.
• The designated area covers the entire territory of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, and no production outside that province qualifies.

Tasting notes

Marchigiano sheep-and-cow milk semi-hard cheese (small wheels), aged 15-30 days. Pale ivory, soft yielding texture, mild sweet-grassy flavor with delicate tangy finish.

HoReCa use

Sliced for central-Italian cheese boards; paired with truffle honey and salumi; a component of the Marche tagliere.

Packaging

• whole-wheel-1kg
• wheel-half-vacuum-500g
• wedge-vacuum-200g