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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Mollana della Val Borbera

Raw whole cow milk that has not soured is set with rennet at about 38 °C for about an hour. The curd is cut in two stages, to apple size and then walnut-grain size, rests under the whey, and is put in wooden or plastic moulds, turned 4 or 5 times and dry-salted at the end of the day. It is ready the next day or ripens about two weeks until a light rind with white mould forms.

Fully documentedCheese12 days – 15 daysTraditional food product (PAT, Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheet gives no doses. Each cheese weighs 0.7–1.2 kg, 20–25 cm across and 2–3 cm high.
Raw whole cow milk, not soured[pat-sheet]
Rennet[pat-sheet]
Salt[pat-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 12 days – 15 days

Start
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38 °C

What changes: Rennet goes into raw, unsoured whole milk at about 38 °C

Step 1 of 5
Set the milk with rennet
Time
1 h
Reported
Temperature
38 °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 whole cow milk that has not soured is set with rennet at about 38 °C for about an hour. The curd is cut in two stages, to apple size and then walnut-grain size, rests under the whey, and is put in wooden or plastic moulds, turned 4 or 5 times and dry-salted at the end of the day. It is ready the next day or ripens about two weeks until a light rind with white mould forms. Made in 5 steps over 12 days – 15 days. The longest step, ripen briefly, takes 12–15 days (Regione Piemonte 2015) and runs at up to 4 °C (ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters)).

Key numbers
Main step12–15 daysReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen briefly
Temperatureup to 4 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Ripen briefly
AciditypH 6–6.5Reported[pat-sheet][onaf]Ripen briefly

What makes this one different

A raw-milk fresh cheese with low acidity (pH 6.0–6.5) and high moisture; the name comes from the soft, yielding paste.

Rind
None when fresh; after about two weeks light white to straw with white mould
Size
Low, wide cylinder, 20–25 cm across, side 2–3 cm

Related ferments

Safety

The PAT sheet warns that a raw-milk fresh cheese with little acidity and high moisture could let unwanted microbes grow, relies on milk quality, dairy hygiene and an unbroken cold chain, and suggests pasteurisation even though it is not compulsory.

History and sources

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

The ONAF sheet says that in the past people owned one or two dairy cows, perhaps of the Biunda Varzese-Ottonese breed, now almost gone. The family drank the milk it needed each day and made cheese, often small, from the rest. The historic make differed from today's, with the rennet added at no more than 35 °C and the curd broken after 3 hours. A similar "molana" is made in the Oltrepò Pavese and a "mollana" in the Ligurian Apennines behind Genoa.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460, schede tecniche prodotti PAT 2015, Category D product 16 'Mollana della Val Borbera' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Mollana della Val Borbera' (id 459)web
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Mollana della Val Borbera'web