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Cheese from Italy, Friuli Venezia Giulia

Monte Re

Raw cow milk with enough goat milk is worked only once it has soured, helped if needed by a whey starter or thermophilic cultures, and set with liquid rennet or kid rennet paste. The coarsely broken curd is semi-cooked at about 44 °C and left 24 hours on the draining table before it is moulded, pressed and salted. It ripens at least 4 months in a dry room.

Fully documentedCheese4.1 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Friuli Venezia Giulia)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedMade in one small dairy and on family farms with copper vats and wooden tools; no batch size or doses are published. A wheel weighs 2–6 kg.
Whole raw cow milk[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Goat milk, in enough quantity to give the goat tasteTraditionally goat, sheep and cow milk as available[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Whey starter or thermophilic lactic cultures (if needed)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Liquid rennet, or kid rennet paste when there is too little goat or sheep milk[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt, dry or as brine[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Starterthe milk is worked once it has soured enough; a whey starter or thermophilic lactic cultures can be added

Total time across the recorded steps: 4.1 months

Start
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Milk sugarLactic acid

What changes: Lactic bacteria sour the mixed cow and goat milk before it is set

Step 1 of 7
Let the milk sour
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk is worked only once it has soured enough; a whey starter or thermophilic lactic cultures can be added to make sure the right flora is present.

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 with enough goat milk is worked only once it has soured, helped if needed by a whey starter or thermophilic cultures, and set with liquid rennet or kid rennet paste. The coarsely broken curd is semi-cooked at about 44 °C and left 24 hours on the draining table before it is moulded, pressed and salted. It ripens at least 4 months in a dry room. Made in 7 steps over 4.1 months. The longest step, ripen in a dry room, takes at least 4 months (ERSA (Agenzia regionale per lo sviluppo rural…).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 4 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen in a dry room
Temperature44 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Break and semi-cook

What makes this one different

The Italian side of the Nanos cheese, split by the post-war border. The milk is soured before setting, and the cooked curd rests a whole day on the table before it is moulded.

Rind
Smooth, fairly regular, straw-yellow
Size
Cylinder 17–18 cm across and 8–9 cm high, 2–6 kg
Season
Made all year (ONAF)

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk. The curd is semi-cooked at about 44 °C and the cheese ripens at least 4 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

The cheese was made in the Austro-Hungarian period in the malghe of Mount Nanos (Monte Re in Italian) from mixed goat, sheep and cow milk, and spread to the Vipava valley and the Carso, mainly after the First World War. After the Second World War the new border split the area; in Trieste production was limited to a few farms and the cheese is now also made by the Latteria Sociale del Carso.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] ERSA (Agenzia regionale per lo sviluppo rurale, Friuli Venezia Giulia), traditional product sheet 'Monte Re' (saved 22 August 2017; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Monte Re'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Monte Re' (id 394)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