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Cheese from Italy, Valle d'Aosta

Formaggio di pecora o capra a pasta pressata (Valle d'Aosta)Formaggio di pecora o capra a pasta pressata

Whole raw ewe or goat milk is set with rennet at about 34–36 °C, cut to rice-size grains and the mass is warmed to no more than 40–42 °C. The curd is pressed in hoops under a weight, dry-salted and ripened for three months or more in cool, damp cellars into a firm round cheese.

Fully documentedCheese3 monthsPAT (Valle d'Aosta, regional sheet 1.12)Family: Hard pressed ewe cheese family (Manchego and Pecorino Romano as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe regional sheet says the method was never fixed and is passed on by word of mouth, so it gives no batch; the size of the wheels varies.
Whole raw ewe or goat milkONAF also allows cow milk with ewe or goat milk added[vda-pressata][onaf-pressata]
Liquid calf rennet[onaf-pressata]
SaltDry salt[onaf-pressata]

Total time across the recorded steps: 3 months

Start
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What changes: Starting material: whole raw milk from Aosta ewes or goats

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

Whole raw milk of ewes or goats. ONAF gives February to November as the making season, with the best cheese in summer. Output: whole raw ewe or 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

Whole raw ewe or goat milk is set with rennet at about 34–36 °C, cut to rice-size grains and the mass is warmed to no more than 40–42 °C. The curd is pressed in hoops under a weight, dry-salted and ripened for three months or more in cool, damp cellars into a firm round cheese. Made in 7 steps over 3 months. The longest step, ripen in a cool cellar, takes at least 3 months (ONAF).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 monthsReported[onaf-pressata]Ripen in a cool cellar
Temperature34–36 °CReported[vda-pressata]Add rennet

What makes this one different

This is the pressed, longer-ripened cheese of Aosta's small ruminants. Unlike the soft goat cheese of the same herds it is cut fine, warmed and pressed under a weight, then aged for months.

Milk
Whole raw ewe or goat milk (ONAF also lists cow milk with ewe or goat milk added)
Ripening
At least 3 months (ONAF)
Size
Round wheel of variable size

Related ferments

Variants

  • ... alpeggioMade on the summer pastures; the word "alpeggio" follows the name.

Safety

Made from raw milk. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses, except hard cooked cheeses; ONAF classes this one as semi-cooked, at 45 °C.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, the main hazards ANSES names for raw-milk cheeses.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet admits there are no documents for the region's goat and ewe cheeses, but says they are old and tied to the herds themselves; the method has been passed on by word of mouth.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [vda-pressata] Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, Scheda identificativa 1.12, Formaggio di pecora o capra a pasta pressata (D.Lgs. 173/1998 art. 8)gov
  2. [onaf-pressata] ONAF, Formaggi di pecora o capra a pasta pressata, technical sheet (PAT Valle d'Aosta)web
  3. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov