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Cheese from Italy, Lombardia

BranziFormaggio Branzi

A large semi-cooked wheel from the upper Val Brembana, made all year from raw whole cow milk of two milkings. The milk is warmed to 35–37 °C with rennet and a little starter, the curd is broken and semi-cooked to 45–47 °C, then hooped and pressed. Wheels are salted over 8–12 days and ripened at least 60 days, up to a year, with the rind cleaned and oiled.

Fully documentedCheese2.3 months – 12 monthsPAT (traditional agri-food product of Lombardia); collective brandFamily: Cooked hard alpine cheese family (Comté, Gruyère and Emmentaler as templates)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceOnly the rennet dose is given, per 100 litres of milk. Wheels weigh 12–15 kg.
Raw whole cow milkTwo milkings kept in a chilled tank[pat-sheet]
Liquid calf rennet, strength 1:10,00030–40 ml per 100 litres (ONAF sheet)[onaf-sheet]
Starter culturesA very small amount, to steer the ripening[pat-sheet]
SaltDry or as a 13–17 % brine[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Food-grade oilRubbed on the rind during ripening[onaf-sheet]
Startera minimal amount of starter cultures to steer ripening

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.3 months – 12 months

Start
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35–37 °CMilk proteinGel (curd)

What changes: Rennet and a little starter set the warmed raw milk into a curd

Step 1 of 6
Warm the milk with rennet and starter
Time
25–40 min
Reported
Temperature
35–37 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

A large semi-cooked wheel from the upper Val Brembana, made all year from raw whole cow milk of two milkings. The milk is warmed to 35–37 °C with rennet and a little starter, the curd is broken and semi-cooked to 45–47 °C, then hooped and pressed. Wheels are salted over 8–12 days and ripened at least 60 days, up to a year, with the rind cleaned and oiled. Made in 6 steps over 2.3 months – 12 months. The longest step, ripen in the casere and oil the rind, takes 2–12 months (Regione Lombardia) and runs at 7–13 °C (ONAF). Salt is 13–17 % (ONAF).

Key numbers
Main step2–12 monthsReported[pat-sheet]Ripen in the casere and oil the rind
Temperature7–13 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Ripen in the casere and oil the rind
Salt13–17 %Reported[onaf-sheet]Salt

What makes this one different

It was once a summer alpine cheese; after the Second World War it was made from whole milk all year. It is ripened in the casere of Branzi and sold in three grades marked on the wheel.

Size
Ø 30–40 cm, side 8–10 cm, straight or V-shaped; 12–15 kg
Grades
Sold fresco (red mark, 45–90 days), stagionato (brown mark, 91–180 days) and stravecchio (brown mark, 181 days or more) under the collective brand (ONAF sheet)
Output
About 500 wheels a day from three small and medium dairies (regional sheet)

Related ferments

Variants

  • FrescoRed mark; yellow rind, semi-hard paste.
  • StagionatoBrown mark; firmer paste, darker rind.
  • StravecchioBrown mark; hard, brown rind, more piquant.

Safety

Made from raw milk, semi-cooked and ripened at least 60 days. Ageing alone does not make raw-milk cheese safe. The US FDA says 60 days may not eliminate or adequately reduce E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in raw-milk cheese, and Listeria may grow in some cheeses during ageing. ANSES names Salmonella, enterohaemorrhagic E. coli and Listeria monocytogenes among the bacteria found in raw-milk cheeses. It advises pregnant women, people over 65, young children and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheese, except cooked, pressed cheeses such as gruyère or comté. Do not assume this semi-cooked cheese fits that exception.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Branzi, a village of the upper Val Brembana, has held a cheese market and cattle fair since the early 19th century, and buyers from Bergamo and Brescia came for the cheese on 21 September. Whole-milk cheese was once made only in summer; in the valley a half-fat cheese was made so the cream could go into butter.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Lombardia, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, scheda Branzigov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF, Branzi, technical sheet (PAT Lombardia)web
  3. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov
  4. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov