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Cheese from Italy, Toscana

Formaggi caprini della Maremma

Goat milk is pasteurised at 72 °C for about 30 minutes and soured by lactic cultures, with a little calf rennet, for up to 24 hours. The soft curd is ladled into small perforated moulds, drained and turned on sloping tables, then rolled in herbs or spices. The little cheeses are eaten fresh or kept up to 30 days at 4 °C.

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedMade by a single farm at Orbetello to order; the sheets give no amounts. The cheeses are very small cylinders, pyramids or tomini.
Whole goat milkPasteurised[tos-maremma][onaf-maremma][vetrina-maremma]
Lactic cultures[onaf-maremma]
Animal rennet, a small amountCalf liquid rennet, according to ONAF[tos-maremma][onaf-maremma]
Coatingto tasteCharcoal, peppercorns, chilli, chives, garlic, sesame, mint, oregano, chopped almonds or basil[tos-maremma]
Starterlactic cultures

Total time across the recorded steps: 31 days

Start
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72 °C

What changes: The goat milk is pasteurised at 72 °C for about half an hour

Step 1 of 5
Pasteurise the milk
Time
30 min
Reported
Temperature
72 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: pasteurised goat 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

Goat milk is pasteurised at 72 °C for about 30 minutes and soured by lactic cultures, with a little calf rennet, for up to 24 hours. The soft curd is ladled into small perforated moulds, drained and turned on sloping tables, then rolled in herbs or spices. The little cheeses are eaten fresh or kept up to 30 days at 4 °C. Made in 5 steps over 31 days. The longest step, keep cold, takes up to 30 days (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…) and runs at 4 °C (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…). Added lactic cultures that sour the milk does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepup to 30 daysReported[onaf-maremma]Keep cold
Temperature4 °CReported[onaf-maremma]Keep cold

What makes this one different

Unlike the raw-milk goat cheeses of the Alto Mugello and the Apuan Alps, these are made from pasteurised milk by a single farm, and set mainly by lactic souring, not by rennet. The coating, chosen by the customer, gives each batch its smell.

Rind
None; snow-white surface, coloured by the coating
Size
Very small; cylinder, pyramid or tomino
Season
Mainly March to November, while the goats are in milk (ONAF)

Related ferments

Variants

  • Plain or coatedEaten plain or coated with one of about ten herbs, spices, seeds or charcoal.
  • MaturedUsually eaten fresh; some are matured for up to 30 days.

Safety

Made from milk pasteurised at 72 °C for about 30 minutes and kept at 4 °C for at most about 30 days.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet says the method was recovered from an old recipe of the farm's manager, and that families in the Maremma once kept a few goats whose milk also went to young children.

  1. [tos-maremma] Regione Toscana (ARSIA), prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, sheet 'Formaggi caprini della Maremma' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-maremma] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Formaggi caprini della Maremma' (PAT Toscana)web
  3. [vetrina-maremma] Regione Toscana, Vetrina Toscana, product page 'Formaggi caprini della Maremma' (traditional-product record: area, process, production status)gov