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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Murtarat

Raw whole cow milk, with no added starter, is set with liquid calf rennet at 36 °C for about 60 minutes. The curd is cut twice to rice-grain size, gathered into a mould or straight into a cloth and hung about 24 hours to drain, without pressing. During ripening the rind is coated with rosemary powder, dried garlic, chopped herbs or sifted maize flour and walnuts; it is sold from about two months and can age longer than 6–7 months.

Fully documentedCheese2 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheet gives no doses. Each cheese weighs 0.4–0.7 kg, about 20 cm across and 3–4 cm high.
Raw whole cow milk, freshly milked or well chilled[pat-sheet]
Liquid calf rennet[pat-sheet]
Rind coatings - powdered rosemary, freeze-dried garlic, chopped herbs, or sifted maize flour with walnuts[pat-sheet]
Starternone added

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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36 °C

What changes: Liquid calf rennet sets the raw milk at 36 °C in about an hour

Step 1 of 4
Set with calf rennet
Time
1 h
Reported
Temperature
36 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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, with no added starter, is set with liquid calf rennet at 36 °C for about 60 minutes. The curd is cut twice to rice-grain size, gathered into a mould or straight into a cloth and hung about 24 hours to drain, without pressing. During ripening the rind is coated with rosemary powder, dried garlic, chopped herbs or sifted maize flour and walnuts; it is sold from about two months and can age longer than 6–7 months. Made in 4 steps over 2 months. The longest step, coat the rind and ripen, takes at least 2 months (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsReported[pat-sheet]Coat the rind and ripen
Temperature36 °CReported[pat-sheet]Set with calf rennet

What makes this one different

The curd is drained in hanging cloth without pressing, and one base cheese is given different rind coatings (rosemary, garlic, herbs, maize flour and walnuts). The name means "firecracker", for its burst of flavour. Formaggio.it describes a different method for the Biella cheese, with evening and morning milk left to acidify for 24–36 hours, the fragile curd put in small moulds and eaten after one or two days, or 4–8 cheeses kneaded with garlic, chilli, salt and pepper and left to ripen in a cloth. The two descriptions disagree, and this page follows the regional sheet.

Rind
Slightly rough, straw to light brown or grey; sometimes coated in the flavourings
Size
Low, irregular cylinder about 20 cm across, side about 3–4 cm

Related ferments

Variants

  • Flavoured rindsRosemary powder, freeze-dried garlic, chopped herbs, or maize flour and walnuts

Safety

The milk is raw. A 2004 regional study of five lots, cited by the PAT sheet, found microbiological results that did not give a fully positive profile; the sheet lists no special risks beyond normal cheesemaking. The cheese is sold from about two 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 that Listeria may grow in some cheeses during ageing.

History and sources

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

Local tradition places its birth in Zubiena; the sheet suggests the spices and herbs may first have hidden the cheese from raiders. Cited in S. Doglio (1996) and B. Gremmo Zumaglini (1997). Formaggio.it says production was taken up again about 25 years before its text was written, after a long period of abandonment.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460, schede tecniche prodotti PAT 2015, Category D product 21 'Murtarat' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Murtarat' (id 464)web
  3. [formaggio-it] Formaggio.it, product page 'Murtarat P.A.T.' (Scheda analitica)web
  4. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov