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Cheese from Spain, Catalonia

GarrotxaFormatge Garrotxa

Pasteurised whole goat milk is ripened with lactic cultures, then set by mixed curdling with animal rennet, cut to maize-grain size, moulded, lightly pressed and salted in brine. During at least 21 days of ripening a grey-blue, fuzzy coat of mould grows on the rind and is combed by hand; it is never inoculated.

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe sources read give no milk volumes. Cheeses weigh 0.5 kg (± 50 g) or 1 kg (± 100 g), and the times and temperatures below come from ICEX's description of the method, not from a recipe.
Whole goat milkKept at 4–6 °C for at most 48 hours after milking, then pasteurised (ICEX)[garrotxa-du-2023][icex-garrotxa]
Lactic cultures[garrotxa-du-2023]
Calcium chloride (optional)ICEX gives 0.5–1 ml per litre of milk[garrotxa-du-2023][icex-garrotxa]
Animal rennetThe only rennet ICEX accepts[garrotxa-du-2023][icex-garrotxa]
SaltBrine at 20 % salt (ICEX); hand salting to 2 % of the cheese weight is also accepted[garrotxa-du-2023][icex-garrotxa]
Starterlactic cultures added to the pasteurised milk

Total time across the recorded steps: 21 days

Start
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37 °C

What changes: Pasteurised goat milk is cooled to 37 °C and left to ripen before the rennet goes in

Step 1 of 6
Pasteurise and ripen the milk
Time
30 min – 1 h
Reported
Temperature
37 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds

Output: ripened 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

Pasteurised whole goat milk is ripened with lactic cultures, then set by mixed curdling with animal rennet, cut to maize-grain size, moulded, lightly pressed and salted in brine. During at least 21 days of ripening a grey-blue, fuzzy coat of mould grows on the rind and is combed by hand; it is never inoculated. Made in 6 steps over 21 days. The longest step, ripen and comb the mould, takes at least 21 days (European Commission 2023) and runs at 10–12 °C (ICEX Foods and Wines from Spain). Salt is 20 % (ICEX Foods and Wines from Spain).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 21 daysSet[garrotxa-du-2023]Ripen and comb the mould
Temperature10–12 °CReported[icex-garrotxa]Ripen and comb the mould
Salt20 %Reported[icex-garrotxa]Brine and dry

What makes this one different

Garrotxa is made by mixed curdling, with rennet after a lactic ripening. The application for the PGI says it is the only goat's cheese made this way, with mould left to grow on the rind, in Spain or elsewhere in Europe. The mould is never inoculated and is combed by hand during ripening.

Milk
Whole goat milk, pasteurised
Ripening
At least 21 days
Composition
Fat at least 45 % and protein at least 30 % of dry matter; dry matter at most 70 %
Size
1 kg (±100 g) or 0.5 kg (±50 g); height no more than diameter

Related ferments

Safety

Made from pasteurised milk. ICEX says the ripened cheese is kept at 4–8 °C for at most four months from the date of production.

History and sources

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

The PGI application says the area has historically produced goat milk and made cheese. Goat milk production in Catalonia rose from 156,000 litres in 1973 to 1,300,000 litres in 1983, and farmers in the Garrotxa district hired specialist cheesemakers to make a matured cheese from the surplus. The specialists revived an older recipe for a matured goat cheese, and it took the district's name. In the 1980s the Torre Marimon agricultural college ran artisan cheesemaking courses that taught the method to young people who moved to the countryside. The Commission entered the name as a PGI in December 2023.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [garrotxa-du-2023] European Commission 2023, Single document 'Formatge Garrotxa / Queso Garrotxa', EU No PGI-ES-02876, Official Journal of the European Union C 303, 28.8.2023 (2023/C 303/05)spec
  2. [reg-2023-2872] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2872 of 13 December 2023 entering «Formatge Garrotxa» / «Queso Garrotxa» (PGI) in the register (BOE copy of the Official Journal)spec
  3. [icex-garrotxa] ICEX Foods and Wines from Spain, Garrotxa cheese (production and processing method)gov