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Cheese from Italy, Lombardia

Formaggella di MenconicoFormagella di Menconico

Whole cow milk from two milkings is pasteurised, cultured and set with calf rennet at 37 °C for 45 minutes. The curd is broken to walnut size, pumped into moulds, brined for a few hours and ripened for 15–40 days into a small soft cheese.

Fully documentedCheese15 days – 40 daysPAT (Lombardia, DDUO n. 3392 of 7 April 2008, Allegato B)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNeither sheet gives amounts. A cheese is about 20 cm across and weighs 0.6–1 kg; ONAF gives a height of 6–8 cm.
Whole cow milkFrom two milkings, pasteurised[lom-menconico][onaf-menconico]
Lactic cultures[lom-menconico]
Liquid calf rennet[onaf-menconico]
SaltONAF says some salt goes into the vat with the cultures; the cheeses are also brined[lom-menconico][onaf-menconico]
Starterlactic cultures

Total time across the recorded steps: 15 days – 40 days

Start
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70 °C

What changes: The whole milk of two milkings is pasteurised

Step 1 of 6
Pasteurise the milk
Time
0.4 min
Reported
Temperature
70 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The regional sheet says only that the milk of two milkings is pasteurised. Output: pasteurised whole 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

Whole cow milk from two milkings is pasteurised, cultured and set with calf rennet at 37 °C for 45 minutes. The curd is broken to walnut size, pumped into moulds, brined for a few hours and ripened for 15–40 days into a small soft cheese. Made in 6 steps over 15 days – 40 days. The longest step, ripen cold, takes 15–40 days (Regione Lombardia) and runs at 4 °C (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…).

Key numbers
Main step15–40 daysReported[lom-menconico][onaf-menconico]Ripen cold
Temperature4 °CReported[onaf-menconico]Ripen cold

What makes this one different

A formaggella of the Apennine corner of Lombardy, between Piedmont, Liguria and Emilia. Salt goes into the milk in the vat as well as into a short brine, and the cheese ripens in a cold room at 4 °C.

Local names
Also called Mollana di Menconico or Mollana del Brallo, because it is soft and much of it is made at the Brallo pass
Molana
ArteCibo (2017) describes Molana, a local name that ONAF spells Mollana, as a soft cheese with a mild, delicate taste, eaten fresh or briefly aged and traditionally made at Brallo; it names the Varzese cow as the milk source and says Molana holds PAT status
Rind
Rough and soft, white or ivory
Size
About 20 cm across, 6–8 cm high, 0.6–1.0 kg
Season
All year (ONAF)

Related ferments

Variants

  • Larval typeONAF describes a type broken down by the larvae of the cheese fly (Piophila casei) into a very sharp pinkish-hazel cream sold in glass jars.

Safety

Made from pasteurised milk and kept in a cold room at 4 °C while it ripens. The larval type below is a separate type, broken down by cheese-fly larvae. A case report describes myiasis, an infestation by fly larvae, in a patient who swallowed larvae of this fly (Nocera and Crotti 2009). Do not eat cheese with live larvae.

History and sources

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

The regional list of traditional agri-food products took it in from the 7th revision of the national list (ministerial decree of 19 June 2007). Its milk comes mainly from Varzese cows, a breed estimated at 20,000–25,000 head in the late 1950s and close to extinction twenty years later; the breed is now being conserved with the regional government and the universities of Milan and Turin.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [lom-menconico] Regione Lombardia, Schede prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, Allegato B al DDUO n. 3392 del 7/4/08, 'Formaggella di Menconico' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-menconico] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Formaggella di Menconico' (PAT Lombardia)web
  3. [artecibo2017] ArteCibo editorial board 2017, The Varzese Breed - Not Only Cheese (artecibo.com, 6 March 2017)web
  4. [nocera2009] Nocera E., Crotti D. 2009, Accidental miasis caused by Piophila casei, a case report, Microbiologia Medica 24(1), doi:10.4081/mm.2009.2554 (abstract)paper