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Cheese from Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Prov. Trento

DolomitiFormaggio Dolomiti

Whole cow milk is thermised at 60–65 °C, cooled to 40–42 °C and set with a natural milk starter and rennet in 10–15 minutes. The uncooked curd is broken to hazelnut size, moulded, kept warm overnight and brined 7–8 hours in a light brine. The soft wheels are ready after about 15 days at 14–18 °C.

Fully documentedCheese16 daysTraditional food product (PAT, Autonomous Province of Trento)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe sheet gives the starter dose per hectolitre of milk but no batch size or rennet dose. A wheel weighs 2.8–3.0 kg.
Whole cow milk from one or two milkingsCows fed on summer pasture or meadow hay; no preservatives or additives in the feed[trento-pat]
Natural milk starter (lattofermento)About 2.0–3.0 hg per hl of milkMade from local milk, see the first step[trento-pat]
Calf (bovine) rennet[trento-pat][onaf-sheet]
Salt (light brine, 16 °Bé)[trento-pat]
Starternatural milk starter (lattofermento), made from local milk heated, then held at 44–50 °C for 5–6 hours

Total time across the recorded steps: 16 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
65 °CMilk sugarLactic acid

What changes: Heated milk is held at 44–50 °C for 5–6 hours until it sours

Step 1 of 7
Make the natural milk starter
Time
5–6 h
Reported
Temperature
65 °C → 44 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: natural milk starter.

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

Whole cow milk is thermised at 60–65 °C, cooled to 40–42 °C and set with a natural milk starter and rennet in 10–15 minutes. The uncooked curd is broken to hazelnut size, moulded, kept warm overnight and brined 7–8 hours in a light brine. The soft wheels are ready after about 15 days at 14–18 °C. Made in 7 steps over 16 days. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 15 days (Provincia autonoma di Trento 2013) and runs at 14–18 °C (Provincia autonoma di Trento 2013).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 15 daysReported[trento-pat]Ripen
Temperature14–18 °CReported[trento-pat]Ripen

What makes this one different

One of the few soft, uncooked cheeses of the Trentino mountains, where most historical cheese was hard, cooked or semi-cooked. It uses a natural milk starter made from local milk and is eaten young.

Rind
Clean, smooth or lightly ridged, ivory to pale straw
Size
Cylinder 18–20 cm across with a 10–11 cm side; 2.8–3.0 kg
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is thermised at 60–65 °C before the starter goes in. The sheet says the process numbers can shift with the season and the milk.

History and sources

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

The sheet places its roots in summer alpine dairies. Its method was taught in the first half of the 1900s at the dairy school of the San Michele all'Adige agricultural institute. The Predazzo cooperative dairy revived it in the second half of the 1900s and is still the main maker.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [trento-pat] Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trentino Agricoltura, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, Formaggi, 'Dolomiti' (updated 2013-12-27)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Dolomiti'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Dolomiti' (id 777)web