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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Formaggio del fieno

Raw whole cow milk from two or more milkings is set with liquid calf rennet at 35–38 °C, cut to rice-grain size and stirred but not cooked. The curd drains in cloth-lined hoops for about 24 hours and is dry-salted or brined. Once a light rind forms, the cheese ripens at least 60 days covered in mountain hay, which flavours rind and paste.

Fully documentedCheese2 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Regione Piemonte)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe regional sheet gives the rennet dose per 100 litres of milk; it gives no batch size. A cheese weighs 6–8 kg.
Raw whole cow milkTwo or more milkings, held in a milk cooler at 4 °C[pat-sheet]
Liquid calf rennet30–35 cc per 100 litres of milk[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Coarse salt, or saturated brine infused with hay[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Mountain hayWell dried, mould-free hay cut on alpine pastures above 1500 m, used to wrap the cheese[onaf-sheet][pat-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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4 °C

What changes: Raw milk from two or more milkings is kept cold at 4 °C

Step 1 of 6
Collect and chill the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
4 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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

Raw whole cow milk from two or more milkings is set with liquid calf rennet at 35–38 °C, cut to rice-grain size and stirred but not cooked. The curd drains in cloth-lined hoops for about 24 hours and is dry-salted or brined. Once a light rind forms, the cheese ripens at least 60 days covered in mountain hay, which flavours rind and paste. Made in 6 steps over 2 months. The longest step, ripen under mountain hay, takes at least 2 months (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen under mountain hay
Temperature4 °CReported[pat-sheet]Collect and chill the milk

What makes this one different

The curd is not cooked; its mark is the ripening, covered in mountain hay that is changed as the cheese ages and gives it a grassy note.

Rind
Thin, straw to hazel, cloth-marked, with hay residues and traces of mould
Size
Irregular cylinder 25–35 cm across, side about 10 cm, 6–8 kg
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

The regional sheet says the hay must be well stored and free of mould, and should be changed often, above all early in ripening. The cheese is made from raw milk; ANSES names Listeria, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli as the main raw-milk cheese hazards. It advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children not to eat raw-milk cheeses, except cooked pressed ones such as Comté.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet found no written records, only oral accounts. ONAF says wrapping in hay was likely brought by makers from the Waldensian valleys and was a cheese of herders who wintered on the plain.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460, Schede tecniche prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, Categoria D n. 13 'Formaggio del fieno', BU38S1 24/09/2015 (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Formaggio del fieno'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Formaggio del fieno' (id 456)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov