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Cheese from Italy, Lombardia

Granone lodigianograna con la goccia

Raw cow milk of two milkings, the evening one skimmed by creaming, is set at 35 °C with a natural whey starter and powdered calf rennet. The curd is broken to millet-grain size, cooked to 45–50 °C and lifted into hoops without pressing, so whey stays in the paste. Brined and ripened 2–4 years, it shows drops of whey in its eyes, the "goccia".

Fully documentedCheese2 years – 4 yearsTraditional food product (PAT, Regione Lombardia, 9th revision)Family: Parmigiano Reggiano

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedLarge dairy wheels; the sheets give no batch size or doses. The regional sheet gives wheels of 45–50 kg, ONAF 30–45 kg.
Raw cow milk of two milkingsEvening milk skimmed by creaming, morning milk whole; Friesian and some Brown cows[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Natural whey starter (sieroinnesto)[onaf-sheet]
Calf rennet (animal rennet; powdered in ONAF)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt, dry or as brine[pat-sheet]
Refined linseed oilFor oiling the rind during ripening[onaf-sheet]
Starternatural whey starter (sieroinnesto)

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 years – 4 years

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Cream rises on the evening milk and is skimmed off before the morning milk is added

Step 1 of 6
Skim the evening milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The evening milk creams overnight and is skimmed, then mixed with the whole morning 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 two milkings, the evening one skimmed by creaming, is set at 35 °C with a natural whey starter and powdered calf rennet. The curd is broken to millet-grain size, cooked to 45–50 °C and lifted into hoops without pressing, so whey stays in the paste. Brined and ripened 2–4 years, it shows drops of whey in its eyes, the "goccia". Made in 6 steps over 2 years – 4 years. The longest step, ripen for years, takes 2–4 years (Regione Lombardia).

Key numbers
Main step2–4 yearsReported[pat-sheet]Ripen for years
Temperature35 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Add whey starter and rennet

What makes this one different

Held to be the ancestor of the grana cheeses. Its curd is not pressed, so whey stays in the paste and seeps as drops in the eyes as it ripens. ONAF says true "goccia" production ended around the late 1970s; a similar Tipico Lodigiano was revived in the 2000s.

Rind
Thick, hard, smooth, dark gold to brown; oiled with linseed oil
Size
Regional sheet 45–50 cm across, side 20 cm, 45–50 kg; ONAF 40–45 cm, side 25–28 cm, 30–45 kg
Season
Maggengo made 23 April to 29 September; vernengo the rest of the year

Related ferments

Variants

  • MaggengoMade from 23 April to 29 September.
  • VernengoMade in the winter months.
  • RaspadüraYoung wheels, once the faulty ones, shaved into thin curls at market.

Safety

Made from raw milk and ripened at least two years. ANSES names Listeria, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli as the main raw-milk cheese hazards.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet says the cheese is known from 1500 and had a name for fame on the most prestigious tables of Italy; it adds that a true wheel is extremely hard to find today. ONAF puts the cheese on the most prestigious Lombard tables from 1500, calls it the ancestor of the grana cheeses and says about 450 Lodi dairies made it at its peak in the 19th century. ONAF also says production of the "goccia" type ended around the late 1970s. The raspadüra of the Lodi area began as a poor people's food, shaved from imperfect wheels of the cheese.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Lombardia, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, scheda 'Granone Lodigiano' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Granone lodigiano'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Granone Lodigiano' (id 1010)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov