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Cheese from Italy, Veneto

Monte Veronese PDO

Cow milk from one or two milkings, brought to a set acidity with lactic ferments from earlier makes, is set with calf rennet. The curd is broken to rice-grain size, cooked to 43–45 °C (46–48 °C for the part-skimmed d'allevo), rests in the vat and is moulded in marking bands. After about 24 hours of draining it is salted and ripened, at least 25 days for the whole-milk type and 90 days for d'allevo.

Fully documentedCheese26 daysPDO (EU, 1996); Italian denomination of origin since 1993Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe decree sets acidity, times and temperatures but no doses. Wheels weigh 7–10 kg (latte intero) or 6–9 kg (d'allevo).
Cow milk from one or two consecutive milkings; whole for latte intero, partly skimmed for d'allevo[mv-dpcm1993]
Lactic ferments made in the same or another dairy of the zone from earlier makesAdded only if the milk has not reached the set acidity naturally[mv-dpcm1993]
Calf rennet (pellette di vitello)[mv-dpcm1993]
Salt, dry or as brine[mv-dpcm1993]
Starterlactic ferments from earlier makes of the zone, when the milk is not acid enough

Total time across the recorded steps: 26 days

Start
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What changes: Lactic ferments from earlier makes can go into the cow milk until it reaches the set acidity

Step 1 of 8
Bring the milk to acidity
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The acidity is reached naturally or with lactic ferments from earlier makes.

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

Cow milk from one or two milkings, brought to a set acidity with lactic ferments from earlier makes, is set with calf rennet. The curd is broken to rice-grain size, cooked to 43–45 °C (46–48 °C for the part-skimmed d'allevo), rests in the vat and is moulded in marking bands. After about 24 hours of draining it is salted and ripened, at least 25 days for the whole-milk type and 90 days for d'allevo. Made in 8 steps over 26 days. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 25 days (Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio dei Mini…).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 25 daysSet[mv-dpcm1993]Ripen
Temperature43–48 °CSet[mv-dpcm1993]Cook

What makes this one different

One name for two cheeses, a young whole-milk table cheese and a part-skimmed d'allevo aged from three months to two years. Both use lactic ferments from earlier makes and are cooked to 43–48 °C.

Types
Latte intero (whole milk, at least 25 days) and d'allevo (part-skimmed, at least 90 days; mezzano up to 6 months, vecchio beyond)
Cooking
43–45 °C for latte intero, 46–48 °C for d'allevo
Fat
Fat in dry matter at least 44 % (latte intero) or 30 % (d'allevo)

Related ferments

Safety

Raw milk is common, and a study found enterotoxin-gene Staphylococcus aureus above the Italian limit in most cheeses tested; the authors called for tighter hygiene in the early make.

Hazards the sources name: Staphylococcus aureus, including enterotoxin-gene strains; counts above the Italian limit in 78 % of instances in one study.

History and sources

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

ONAF reports that a cheese was made in the area before the year 1000 and served as a trade good in place of money, and that, as the story goes, the cheese began in 1273 when Bishop Bartolomeo della Scala of Verona let Cimbrian herders from the Asiago plateau live on the Lessinia hills and make cheese. The 1993 decree recognised the cheese after a request from the Verona chamber of commerce.

  1. [mv-dpcm1993] Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri 9 aprile 1993, Riconoscimento della denominazione di origine del formaggio 'Monte Veronese', Gazzetta Ufficiale Serie Generale n. 196, 21.8.1993, art. 3spec
  2. [mv-onaf] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Monte Veronese'web
  3. [poli2007] Poli A, Guglielmini E, Sembeni S, Spiazzi M, Dellaglio F, Rossi F, Torriani S 2007, Detection of Staphylococcus aureus and enterotoxin genotype diversity in Monte Veronese, a Protected Designation of Origin Italian cheese, Letters in Applied Microbiology 45(5):529-534 (abstract)paper