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Cheese from Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia

Formaggio Fagagna

Raw cow milk of the evening and morning milkings is warmed to 33 °C, given a natural milk starter made in the dairy, and set with calf rennet in 25–40 minutes. The curd is cut to wheat-grain size, semi-cooked at 44–46 °C, pressed in metal hoops that print the name, and brined 48 hours. It ripens on wooden boards at about 10 °C for 60 days (fresco), 6 months (mezzano) or 12 months (vecchio).

Fully documentedCheese2 months – 12 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Friuli Venezia Giulia)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedMade in a village dairy in a copper vat; the sheets give no batch size or doses. A cheese is about 8 cm high and 25–30 cm across.
Raw whole cow milk of two milkingsEvening milk chilled overnight, morning milk added still warm[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Natural milk starter (lattoinnesto) made in the dairySome of the best milk heated to 68 °C for a few seconds, then left at room temperature until it reaches 11–13 °SH/50 mL[pat-sheet]
Liquid calf rennet, rich in chymosin[pat-sheet]
Salt, as brine at 18 °Bé[pat-sheet]
Starternatural milk starter (lattoinnesto) made in the dairy from heat-treated milk

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months – 12 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
at least 8 °C

What changes: Chilled evening milk and warm morning milk are mixed in a copper vat

Step 1 of 8
Mix evening and morning milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
at least 8 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The warm morning milk goes straight into the copper vat with the evening 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

Raw cow milk of the evening and morning milkings is warmed to 33 °C, given a natural milk starter made in the dairy, and set with calf rennet in 25–40 minutes. The curd is cut to wheat-grain size, semi-cooked at 44–46 °C, pressed in metal hoops that print the name, and brined 48 hours. It ripens on wooden boards at about 10 °C for 60 days (fresco), 6 months (mezzano) or 12 months (vecchio). Made in 8 steps over 2 months – 12 months. The longest step, ripen on wooden boards, takes 2–12 months (ERSA Friuli Venezia Giulia (Agenzia regionale…) and runs at 10 °C (ERSA Friuli Venezia Giulia (Agenzia regionale…).

Key numbers
Main step2–12 monthsReported[pat-sheet]Ripen on wooden boards
Temperature10 °CReported[pat-sheet]Ripen on wooden boards

What makes this one different

A Friulian latteria wheel from the village dairy founded in 1865, made with a starter soured from the dairy's own heat-treated milk and controlled by the whey's acidity at the end of the cook. It is sold at three ages, fresco, mezzano and vecchio.

Rind
Smooth and fairly even, with FAGAGNA stamped on the side
Size
Cylinder about 8 cm high and 25–30 cm across
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Variants

  • FrescoRipened about 60 days; mild.
  • MezzanoRipened 6 months; stronger.
  • VecchioRipened 12 months; strong and gratable.

Safety

Made from raw milk; the starter is heated to 68 °C to curb early-blowing bacteria, and the make is checked by whey acidity. 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 ERSA sheet says Formaggio Fagagna began with the Latteria sociale that Gabriele Luigi Pecile founded in Fagagna in 1865. It cites Pecile's "Notizie intorno alla Latteria Sociale di Fagagna", published in the Bollettino dell'Associazione Agraria Friulana in 1887.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] ERSA Friuli Venezia Giulia (Agenzia regionale per lo sviluppo rurale), Prodotti tradizionali, 'Formaggio Fagagna' (page captured 19/8/2017; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Formaggio Fagagna'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Formaggio Fagagna' (id 391)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov