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Cheese from Italy, Lombardia

Formai de Livign

Raw cow milk of varying fat content is warmed to 35–36 °C in the dairy and set with calf rennet. The curd is cut to maize-grain size, stirred and heated to 38–40 °C, put into hoops and brined. It ripens at least 60 days on wooden boards and is branded "Livigno" on the rind.

Fully documentedCheese2 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Regione Lombardia, since DM 19 June 2007)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedMade in the dairy, or on the pasture in a copper pot over a wood fire; the sheets give no batch size or doses. A wheel weighs about 10 kg.
Raw part-skimmed cow milk of two milkingsThe fat content may vary; in summer it may be pasture milk[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Liquid calf rennet[onaf-sheet]
Salt, as brine (by hand on the pasture)[pat-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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35–36 °C

What changes: Calf rennet goes into raw milk warmed to 35–36 °C

Step 1 of 6
Warm the milk and add rennet
Time
Not documented
Temperature
35–36 °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 cow milk of varying fat content is warmed to 35–36 °C in the dairy and set with calf rennet. The curd is cut to maize-grain size, stirred and heated to 38–40 °C, put into hoops and brined. It ripens at least 60 days on wooden boards and is branded "Livigno" on the rind. Made in 6 steps over 2 months. The longest step, ripen on wooden boards, takes at least 2 months (Regione Lombardia).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen on wooden boards
Temperature35–36 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Warm the milk and add rennet

What makes this one different

The latteria cheese of Livigno, made all year from raw part-skimmed milk, semi-cooked to 38–40 °C and brined; summer wheels may still be made on the pasture over a wood fire.

Rind
Thin, soft, smooth, straw; may show a slight whitish mould; branded "Livigno"
Size
Cylinder 38–40 cm across, side about 10 cm, about 10 kg
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk and ripened at least 60 days. 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 calls it a latteria cheese, made year-round from valley-floor milk, with a summer version from pasture milk set high up by old country methods, heated on a wood fire in a copper pot called the stein de ram. Lombardy listed it among its traditional food products in the 7th revision, by ministerial decree of 19 June 2007.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Lombardia, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, scheda 'Formai de Livign' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Formai de Livign'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Formai de Livign' (id 1003)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov