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Cheese from Italy, Basilicata

Mozzarelle di Avigliano

Mozzarelle di Avigliano are raw cow milk mozzarelle from Avigliano in Basilicata. The milk is soured with about 3% of yesterday's acidified whey, warmed to 37–40 °C and set with calf rennet in a wooden vat. After about 2 hours of ripening the curd is stretched in salted water at 90 °C and shaped into balls, small plaits or knots.

Fully documentedCheese2.5 hPAT (Basilicata, ALSIA sheet)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe whey starter is about 3% of the milk; the sheets give no batch size. The pieces are small and vary in weight.
Raw whole cow milk from Basilicata farms, filtered[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Whey starter from the previous day, left to sourAbout 3% of the milk[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Calf rennet[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt, in the stretching water[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Starteracidified whey from the previous day, about 3% of the milk

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.5 h

Start
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shapes, not to countLactococcus lactisS. thermophilusEnterococcus faeciumStreptococcus37–40 °C

What changes: Yesterday's soured whey goes into the raw milk, warmed to 37–40 °C

Step 1 of 7
Add whey starter and warm the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
37–40 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
S. thermophilus
Enterococcus faecium
Streptococcus
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

Mozzarelle di Avigliano are raw cow milk mozzarelle from Avigliano in Basilicata. The milk is soured with about 3% of yesterday's acidified whey, warmed to 37–40 °C and set with calf rennet in a wooden vat. After about 2 hours of ripening the curd is stretched in salted water at 90 °C and shaped into balls, small plaits or knots. Made in 7 steps over 2.5 h. The longest step, ripen the curd, takes 2 h (ALSIA (Agenzia Lucana di Sviluppo e Innovazio…). Microbes of the previous day's whey starter, which is left to acidify before use, and of the raw milk and In a related product, the natural whey starter of cow's milk used for caciocavallo in two Campania dairies (a 2022 study; this cheese's own starter was not tested), culture found Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Streptococcus thermophilus and Enterococcus faecium, and sequencing found mostly Streptococcus (read as S. salivarius) with some Lactococcus lactis do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2 hReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen the curd
Temperature37–40 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Add whey starter and warm the milk

What makes this one different

Made from raw milk with a small dose of whey starter, set in wooden vats and stretched by hand with a wooden stick, then sold fresh in small shapes.

Rind
None; a thin, smooth, shiny white skin
Size
Small spheres, small plaits or knots of varying weight
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is used raw; the curd is stretched in water at 90 °C, and the cheese is eaten within a few days, kept at 2–4 °C. 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 regional sheet cites Tommaso Pedio's 'La Basilicata borbonica' (Osanna, 2005), which collects 18th- and 19th-century surveys of the region. The cheese is also made in places settled by emigrants from Avigliano.

  1. [pat-sheet] ALSIA (Agenzia Lucana di Sviluppo e Innovazione in Agricoltura), Regione Basilicata, PAT sheet 'Mozzarelle di Avigliano' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Mozzarelle di Avigliano'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Mozzarelle di Avigliano' (id 1328)web
  4. [foods2022-nws] Marasco R., Gazzillo M., Campolattano N., Sacco M., Muscariello L. (2022), Isolation and Identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Natural Whey Cultures of Buffalo and Cow Milk, Foods 11(2):233 (natural whey starters from two artisanal dairies in Campania)paper
  5. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov