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Cheese from Italy, Veneto

Formaggio Cesio

Raw whole cow milk, mostly from Brown Swiss cows, is warmed with a local natural milk starter and set with calf rennet. The curd is broken to corn size, semi-cooked at about 42 °C for 20–25 minutes, pressed in hoops and brined. It is sold fresh at 15–20 days or ripened to 40–45 days, at most 50.

Fully documentedCheese15 days – 50 daysPAT (traditional food product, Veneto, listed 2012)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give no amounts. A wheel weighs about 6 kg.
Raw whole cow milkTwo milkings, mostly from Bruna and Bruno Alpina (Brown Swiss) cows, collected across Belluno province[pat-cesio][onaf-cesio]
Local natural milk starter (lattoinnesto)Made from raw milk carrying native strains[pat-cesio]
Liquid calf rennet[onaf-cesio]
SaltBrine[pat-cesio][onaf-cesio]
Starterlocal lattoinnesto from raw milk with native strains (regional sheet)

Total time across the recorded steps: 15 days – 50 days

Start
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What changes: Raw whole cow milk is warmed and a local raw-milk starter goes in

Step 1 of 6
Warm the milk with the local starter
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The regional sheet says this starter gives the cheese its particular character.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

the raw-milk starter brings native strains

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 whole cow milk, mostly from Brown Swiss cows, is warmed with a local natural milk starter and set with calf rennet. The curd is broken to corn size, semi-cooked at about 42 °C for 20–25 minutes, pressed in hoops and brined. It is sold fresh at 15–20 days or ripened to 40–45 days, at most 50. Made in 6 steps over 15 days – 50 days. The longest step, ripen briefly, takes 15–50 days (Regione Veneto) and runs at 7–15 °C (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…).

Key numbers
Main step15–50 daysReported[pat-cesio][onaf-cesio]Ripen briefly
Temperature7–15 °CReported[onaf-cesio]Ripen briefly

What makes this one different

It is a young dairy cheese, first made by the Cesiomaggiore dairy in the early 1970s and ripened 50 days at most. ONAF notes that buyers like it for its low aroma.

Rind
None when fresh; very thin, smooth, milk-white when aged
Size
About 6 kg; Ø 32 cm, height 8 cm

Related ferments

Variants

  • Fresco15–20 days; no rind.
  • Stagionato40–45 days; a very thin white rind.

Safety

The milk is raw and the cheese is ripened under two months. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, the main hazards ANSES names for raw-milk cheeses.

History and sources

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

The name comes from Cesiomaggiore, on the right bank of the Piave, where the dairy that first made it in the early 1970s stands. ONAF reports that in the 1990s production moved to a branch at Sandrigo (Vicenza) and came back to Cesiomaggiore in 2008. The Veneto listed it as a traditional product in 2012.

  1. [pat-cesio] Regione Veneto, Atlante dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali del Veneto, 'Formaggio Cesio', p. 146 (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-cesio] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Formaggio Cesio', PAT Regione Venetoweb
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Formaggio Cesio' (id 1058)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov