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Cheese from Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Prov. Trento

Monte Baldo

Raw milk of two milkings, one partly skimmed, is warmed slowly to 35–37 °C, optionally with a milk starter, and set with rennet in 35–45 minutes. The curd is broken to lentil size, semi-cooked at 44–47 °C for 20–30 minutes, moulded in cloths and brined 5–6 days or dry-salted 8–10 days. It ripens from 7 months up to 4 years.

Fully documentedCheese7.2 months – 4 yearsTraditional food product (PAT, Provincia autonoma di Trento)Family: Cooked hard alpine cheese family (Comté, Gruyère and Emmentaler as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedA standard dairy method with no batch size or rennet dose; the sheet says times, temperatures and doses vary with the milk. A wheel weighs 9–12 kg.
Raw cow milk of two milkings, one part-skimmedONAF says the evening milk is skimmed by letting the cream rise[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Milk starter (latteinnesto), optional[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Bovine (calf) rennet[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt, as brine or dry[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Starteroptional milk starter (latteinnesto)

Total time across the recorded steps: 7.2 months – 4 years

Start
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35–37 °C

What changes: Rennet sets the warmed part-skimmed milk at 35–37 °C in 35–45 minutes

Step 1 of 6
Warm the milk and add rennet
Time
35–45 min
Reported
Temperature
35–37 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk of two milkings, one partly skimmed, goes into the vat; a milk starter can be added while it warms.

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 milk of two milkings, one partly skimmed, is warmed slowly to 35–37 °C, optionally with a milk starter, and set with rennet in 35–45 minutes. The curd is broken to lentil size, semi-cooked at 44–47 °C for 20–30 minutes, moulded in cloths and brined 5–6 days or dry-salted 8–10 days. It ripens from 7 months up to 4 years. Made in 6 steps over 7.2 months – 4 years. The longest step, ripen, takes 7 months – 4 years (Provincia autonoma di Trento 2013) and runs at 12–15 °C (ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters)).

Key numbers
Main step7 months – 4 yearsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen
Temperature12–15 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Ripen

What makes this one different

A long-aged table and grating wheel of Monte Baldo above Lake Garda, ripened 7 months to 4 years. Primo fiore is the same cheese made only from summer milk in the malghe.

Rind
Smooth or slightly rough, fairly thick, straw-yellow to light brown
Size
Cylinder 33–38 cm across and 8–10 cm high, 9–12 kg
Season
Made all year; Primo fiore only in the alpine summer

Related ferments

Variants

  • Primo fioreMade only in the malghe from summer pasture milk; deeper yellow.

Safety

Made from raw milk. The curd is semi-cooked at 44–47 °C and the cheese ripens at least 7 months. The US FDA says ageing raw-milk cheese for 60 days may not eliminate or adequately reduce E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and Listeria may grow in some cheeses during ageing. The US CDC says people at higher risk of Listeria infection, including pregnant women, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity, should avoid cheese made with raw milk unless it is heated to 165 °F (74 °C) or until steaming hot.

History and sources

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

For centuries it was the cheese of the area's 80 malghe. Today village dairies also make it under the name Monte Baldo, while the summer malga cheese is Monte Baldo Primo fiore.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trentino Agricoltura, traditional product sheet 'Monte Baldo e Monte Baldo Primo fiore' (updated 28 December 2013; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Monte Baldo e Monte Baldo Primo fiore'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Monte Baldo e Monte Baldo Primo fiore' (id 781)web
  4. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov
  5. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov