Formaggio di Fossa

Often called just fossa, this is one of Italy's more unusual and 'extreme' cheeses.

After 30-240 days of normal ageing, the cheeses made from sheep's and/or cow's milk are placed in canvas bags and lowered into pits dug in the local tuff (the custom is said to have originated in the Middle Ages from the need to hide cheese from the numerous marauding armies; at some point there was a eureka moment when someone realized that the cheese improved after spending time fermenting in a hole).

The pits are prepared in August by the pit men with fires to sterilize them and eliminate excess humidity, then lined with fresh straw, to maintain a constant temperature of 21C (70F) and 90% humidity. On 26 November, St Catherine's day, the pit men remove the cheeses (the sfossatura), which are ready to eat.

Irregular in shape, fossa has a pungent aroma, reminiscent of the forest floor, and hints of truffle and event mildew. It's often grated over pasta, or eaten in a piadina, or served on its own with honey.

Formaggio di Fossa di Sogliano, made in Sogliano al Rubicone, is DOP. In early December, the village holds a Fiera del Formaggio di Fossa. Another tasty fossa to look out for is Ambra di Talamello.