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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Formaggio a crosta rossa

A washed-rind cow cheese of the Valle di Susa made the same way as Reblochon. Unsoured whole milk is set with calf rennet at 30–35 °C, the curd is broken to hazelnut size, pressed lightly and turned until pH 5.2–5.3, then salted. After 4–8 warm, damp days the cheese ripens 3–4 weeks at 8–12 °C while its rind is washed with salt water and turns red-orange.

Fully documentedCheese26 days – 37 daysPAT (Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460, category D product 12)Family: Washed-rind (smear-ripened) cheese family (Munster and Époisses as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheet gives no batch amounts. A cheese is 10–12 cm across, 2.5–4 cm high and weighs 400–500 g.
Whole cow milkRaw or pasteurised; once only just-milked, now also stored evening milk with fresh morning milk; it must not have soured[pie-crosta][onaf-crosta]
Liquid calf rennet[pie-crosta]
SaltDry salt, or brine[pie-crosta]
Salt waterFor washing the rind[pie-crosta]

Total time across the recorded steps: 26 days – 37 days

Start
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What changes: Starting material: whole cow milk, raw or pasteurised, not soured

Step 1 of 7
Prepare the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk must not have undergone any souring. Output: whole, unsoured 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

A washed-rind cow cheese of the Valle di Susa made the same way as Reblochon. Unsoured whole milk is set with calf rennet at 30–35 °C, the curd is broken to hazelnut size, pressed lightly and turned until pH 5.2–5.3, then salted. After 4–8 warm, damp days the cheese ripens 3–4 weeks at 8–12 °C while its rind is washed with salt water and turns red-orange. Made in 7 steps over 26 days – 37 days. The longest step, ripen and wash the rind, takes 21–28 days (Regione Piemonte 2015) and runs at 8–12 °C (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main step21–28 daysReported[pie-crosta]Ripen and wash the rind
Temperature8–12 °CReported[pie-crosta]Ripen and wash the rind
AciditypH 5.2–5.3Reported[pie-crosta]Mould and press lightly

What makes this one different

The sheet says it is made the same way as Reblochon, because of historical links between French herders and those of the Valle di Susa. Its rind is washed with salt water in a separate ripening stage after a short warm, damp pre-ripening.

Rind
Washed, thin, smooth; yellow-red to brown-red, often partly covered by a light white mould
Size
10–12 cm across, 2.5–4 cm high, 400–500 g
Season
All year (ONAF)

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw or pasteurised milk and ripened 3–4 weeks after a short pre-ripening. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses.

History and sources

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

ONAF dates its origins to the 15th century; Pantaleone da Confienza described it in 1475 in his Summa Lacticiniorum. The PAT sheet says the old reference books it cites name it Reblochon, because the method is the same, owing to historical links between French herders and those of the Valle di Susa, especially Novalesa.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pie-crosta] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 luglio 2015 n. 460 (B.U. 38 S1, 24/09/2015), Schede tecniche prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, categoria D prodotto n. 12, 'Formaggio a crosta rossa' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-crosta] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Formaggio a crosta rossa' (PAT Piemonte)web
  3. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov