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Cheese from Italy, Veneto

Formaggio Casel belluneseCasél

Raw cow milk, the evening milking skimmed by letting the cream rise and the morning milking whole, gets the dairy's own natural milk starter and calf rennet at 33–36 °C. The curd is broken to corn size, semi-cooked to 42–44 °C, pressed in hoops, salted dry or in brine and ripened for 2 to 12 months at 7–15 °C.

Fully documentedCheese2 months – 12 monthsPAT (traditional food product, Veneto)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give the method but no amounts. A wheel weighs 4–7 kg.
Raw cow milkTwo milkings; the evening milk skimmed by letting the cream rise, the morning milk whole[pat-casel][onaf-casel]
Natural milk starter (lattoinnesto)Made by the dairy itself[pat-casel][onaf-casel]
Liquid calf rennet[onaf-casel]
SaltDry salt or, more often, brine[pat-casel]
Starternatural lattoinnesto (milk starter) produced by the dairy itself

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months – 12 months

Start
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What changes: Starting material: creamed evening milk and whole morning milk

Step 1 of 8
Pool the skimmed and whole milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The evening milk stands so its cream rises and is skimmed off; the whole morning milk is added. Output: part-skimmed raw milk.

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

Raw cow milk, the evening milking skimmed by letting the cream rise and the morning milking whole, gets the dairy's own natural milk starter and calf rennet at 33–36 °C. The curd is broken to corn size, semi-cooked to 42–44 °C, pressed in hoops, salted dry or in brine and ripened for 2 to 12 months at 7–15 °C. Made in 8 steps over 2 months – 12 months. The longest step, ripen, takes 2–12 months (Regione Veneto) and runs at 7–15 °C (Regione Veneto).

Key numbers
Main step2–12 monthsReported[pat-casel][onaf-casel]Ripen
Temperature7–15 °CReported[pat-casel][onaf-casel]Ripen

What makes this one different

It is made all year in the Belluno village dairies (in the alpine huts in summer). Its name comes from the "caselo", the shared village dairy. It uses the dairy's own natural milk starter and a semi-cook to 42–44 °C, and can be sold from two months.

Rind
Thin, almost smooth, straw yellow
Size
4.0–7.0 kg; Ø 30–45 cm, height 8–10 cm

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is raw. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses.

History and sources

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

In January 1872 the priest Antonio Della Lucia founded the first cooperative village dairy of the new Kingdom of Italy at Canale d'Agordo. Farmers took turns to have their milk worked by one cheesemaker. The dairy was called "kaselo" or "caselo" in the local Ladin-Veneto dialect, which gave the cheese its name. Some old village dairies have been restored and can be visited.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-casel] Regione Veneto, Atlante dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali del Veneto, 'Formaggio Casel bellunese', p. 145 (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-casel] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Formaggio Casel bellunese', PAT Regione Venetoweb
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Formaggio Casel bellunese' (id 1057)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov