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Cheese from Italy, Liguria

Mozzarella di Brugnato

Mozzarella di Brugnato is a cow milk mozzarella from the middle Val di Vara in Liguria, eaten almost only in its own area. Milk pasteurised at 72 °C is soured with thermophilic lactic cultures and set with calf rennet at 38 °C. The soured curd is stretched by machine in hot water, shaped and salted in cold brine.

Fully documentedCheese40 min – 1.3 hPAT (Regione Liguria)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedMade with steel vats, a stretching machine and a forming machine; the sheets give no amounts. The usual ovoid mozzarella weighs 250–300 g.
Whole cow milk, pasteurised at 72 °C[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Thermophilic lactic cultures, usually acid whey from the previous make[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Liquid calf rennet[onaf-sheet]
Hot water for stretching[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt (cold brine)[onaf-sheet]
Starterthermophilic lactic cultures, usually acid whey kept from the previous make

Total time across the recorded steps: 40 min – 1.3 h

Start
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72 °C

What changes: The milk is pasteurised at 72 °C, then cooled

Step 1 of 7
Pasteurise the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
72 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
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

Mozzarella di Brugnato is a cow milk mozzarella from the middle Val di Vara in Liguria, eaten almost only in its own area. Milk pasteurised at 72 °C is soured with thermophilic lactic cultures and set with calf rennet at 38 °C. The soured curd is stretched by machine in hot water, shaped and salted in cold brine. Made in 7 steps over 40 min – 1.3 h. The longest step, add whey starter and calf rennet, takes 30–45 min (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…) and runs at 38 °C (Regione Liguria (agriligurianet)).

Key numbers
Main step30–45 minReported[onaf-sheet]Add whey starter and calf rennet
Temperature38 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Add whey starter and calf rennet

What makes this one different

A local Ligurian cow milk mozzarella made in Brugnato for about thirty years and eaten almost only in its own valley. The starter is acid whey from the previous make, and stretching and shaping are done by machine.

Rind
None, or a very thin skin
Size
Ovoid, 250–300 g (bocconcino 100 g, nocciolino 30 g, treccia 2 kg)
Composition
Fat 46% of dry matter

Related ferments

Variants

  • Bocconcino (100 g)
  • Nocciolino (30 g)
  • Treccia (2 kg)

Safety

The milk is pasteurised at 72 °C, and the cheese is kept at 2–4 °C for no more than 8 days.

History and sources

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

The Liguria product sheet says mozzarella was first made only from buffalo milk, and that most is now made from cow milk. It says Brugnato has made its mozzarella from cow milk for about thirty years.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Liguria (agriligurianet), traditional product sheet 'Mozzarella di Brugnato' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Mozzarella di Brugnato'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Mozzarella di Brugnato' (id 971)web