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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Montebore

Raw whole cow milk mixed with sheep or goat milk is set with animal rennet at 35–37 °C in 35–40 minutes. The curd is cut twice, rested under the whey, then put into round moulds of three sizes and kept warm at 22–25 °C for 12–24 hours. After salting and a wash, 3 to 5 rounds of shrinking size are stacked into a tiered 'castellino' that ripens from 5 days to several weeks.

Fully documentedCheese5.5 days – 6 daysTraditional food product (PAT, Piemonte, DD 24 July 2015 n. 460); Slow Food PresidiumFamily: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheet doses the rennet by setting time, not by amount, and gives no batch size. A finished tier weighs 0.5–1.2 kg.
Raw whole cow milk of two or more milkingsONAF gives about 75% cow milk; 60–75% in the Slow Food Presidium[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Raw whole sheep or goat milkONAF gives up to 25% of each; 25–40% sheep milk only in the Presidium[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Animal rennet, enough to set the milk in about 35–40 minutes[pat-sheet]
Salt, dry or as brine[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 5.5 days – 6 days

Start
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4 °C

What changes: Raw cow milk and sheep or goat milk from several milkings go into the vat

Step 1 of 6
Gather the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
4 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Raw whole milk of two or more milkings, cow with sheep or goat.

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 mixed with sheep or goat milk is set with animal rennet at 35–37 °C in 35–40 minutes. The curd is cut twice, rested under the whey, then put into round moulds of three sizes and kept warm at 22–25 °C for 12–24 hours. After salting and a wash, 3 to 5 rounds of shrinking size are stacked into a tiered 'castellino' that ripens from 5 days to several weeks. Made in 6 steps over 5.5 days – 6 days. The longest step, ripen and wash, takes at least 5 days (Regione Piemonte 2015) and runs at 12–17 °C (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 5 daysReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen and wash
Temperature12–17 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen and wash

What makes this one different

Its tiered 'wedding cake' shape of stacked rounds is unique; one idea is that stacking kept small cheeses from drying out, another that it saved cellar space. It mixes cow milk with sheep or goat milk, and the tiers are washed while they ripen.

Rind
None when fresh; then a thin, slightly wrinkled white-straw skin (camisa), yellow-orange when washed
Size
Stacked tiers 9–17 cm across at the base and 3–10 cm high, 0.5–1.2 kg
Season
Made all year (ONAF)

Related ferments

Variants

  • MorbidoRipened at least 5–6 days; soft and sweet.
  • StagionatoRipened at least 25 days; firmer.
  • Comodà (sott'olio)Very dry cheese with the rind removed, grated or crumbled and covered with olive oil in sealed jars; ONAF gives at least 6 months.

Safety

Made from raw milk and sold after as little as 5–6 days. The regional sheet finds no hazards beyond normal cheesemaking. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, young children and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheese.

History and sources

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

The first records date from the Middle Ages, and the cheese was once known around Genoa, Alessandria and Pavia. ONAF says making stopped after the Second World War; in 1999 a Slow Food member traced the last cheesemaker who knew the method, and the cheese came back as a niche product.

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, Schede tecniche prodotti PAT 2015, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460 (BU 38S1, 24/09/2015), Category D product 17 'Montebore' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Montebore'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Montebore' (id 460)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov