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Cheese from Italy, Lombardia

Formaggella della Val Sabbia

Pasteurised whole cow milk is warmed to 38 °C with lactic cultures, Penicillium candidum and calf rennet, and the curd is reheated to 41 °C and broken to hazelnut size. The small cheeses are moulded, brined and ripened for 30–60 days, and the white mould grows into a bloom on the rind.

Fully documentedCheese30 days – 2 monthsPAT (Lombardia; 7th revision of the list, ministerial decree of 19 June 2007)Family: Bloomy-rind soft cheese family (Camembert de Normandie as template)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNeither sheet gives amounts. One cheese is 18 cm across, 5–6 cm high and weighs 1.7–1.8 kg.
Whole cow milkPasteurised[lom-sabbia][onaf-sabbia]
Lactic cultures with Penicillium candidumThe white mould that makes the bloom on the rind[lom-sabbia][onaf-sabbia]
Liquid rennetCalf rennet, according to ONAF[lom-sabbia][onaf-sabbia]
SaltAs a brine[lom-sabbia]
Starterlactic cultures with Penicillium candidum

Total time across the recorded steps: 30 days – 2 months

Start
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What changes: The whole cow milk is pasteurised in the vat

Step 1 of 7
Pasteurise the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Penicillium candidum
Moulds

The sheet says pasteurised whole milk but gives no time or temperature. Output: pasteurised whole cow 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

Pasteurised whole cow milk is warmed to 38 °C with lactic cultures, Penicillium candidum and calf rennet, and the curd is reheated to 41 °C and broken to hazelnut size. The small cheeses are moulded, brined and ripened for 30–60 days, and the white mould grows into a bloom on the rind. Made in 7 steps over 30 days – 2 months. The longest step, ripen, takes 30 days – 2 months (Regione Lombardia). Penicillium candidum, the white rind mould does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step30 days – 2 monthsReported[lom-sabbia][onaf-sabbia]Ripen
Temperature38 °CReported[lom-sabbia]Add cultures and rennet

What makes this one different

This formaggella has Penicillium candidum added with the cultures, so it ripens under a white bloom like a soft bloomy-rind cheese, while its curd is still semi-cooked to 41 °C.

Rind
Thin, edible, white or light straw from the white mould
Size
18 cm across, 5–6 cm high, 1.7–1.8 kg
Ripening
30–60 days

Related ferments

Safety

Made from pasteurised milk and eaten after at least 30 days. It is a soft cheese with a white mould rind, and the UK NHS says that in pregnancy mould-ripened soft cheeses with a white coating must be thoroughly cooked, pasteurised or not, because of Listeria.

History and sources

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

History
The sources we found do not record its history.
  1. [lom-sabbia] Regione Lombardia, prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, sheet 'Formaggella della Val Sabbia' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sabbia] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), scheda formaggio 'Formaggella della Val Sabbia' (PAT Lombardia, id 993)web
  3. [onaf-sabbia-pdf] ONAF, technical sheet 'Formaggella della Val Sabbia' (PAT; milk, cultures, size, ageing and the 2007 listing)web
  4. [nhs-preg] NHS, Foods to avoid in pregnancy (cheese section)gov