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Cheese from Italy, Piedmont

Ossolano PDOOssolano

Ossolano is a semi-cooked pressed cow cheese from the Ossola valleys of northern Piedmont. Whole raw or pasteurised milk is set with bovine rennet at 36–39 °C, the curd is cut to maize-grain size and heated to 42–45 °C, then pressed for up to 12 hours in bands printed with the name. It ripens at least 60 days at 5–14 °C.

Fully documentedCheese2 monthsPDO (EU, 2017)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. A wheel is 29–32 cm across and 6–9 cm high and weighs 6–7 kg (Ossolano d'Alpe 5–6 kg).
Whole cow milkFrom 2 to 4 consecutive milkings (Ossolano d'Alpe 1 to 2); raw or pasteurised[onaf-sheet][eu-single-doc]
Starters of local lactic bacteriaOptional; the sheet allows starters obtained by selecting native lactic bacteria[onaf-sheet]
Bovine rennetBovine rennet permitted by current law[onaf-sheet]
SaltDry or as brine[onaf-sheet]
Starteroptional starters selected from native lactic bacteria

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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What changes: Starting material: whole cow milk from two to four milkings, raw or pasteurised

Step 1 of 7
Collect whole milk from several milkings
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Ossolano uses 2 to 4 consecutive milkings; Ossolano d'Alpe uses 1 to 2, made on alpine pastures at 1400 m or higher from June to September. Grass and fodder from the area make up at least 60% of the cows' dry-matter feed (90% for d'Alpe), with cereal and legume concentrates under 40% (10% for d'Alpe).

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

Ossolano is a semi-cooked pressed cow cheese from the Ossola valleys of northern Piedmont. Whole raw or pasteurised milk is set with bovine rennet at 36–39 °C, the curd is cut to maize-grain size and heated to 42–45 °C, then pressed for up to 12 hours in bands printed with the name. It ripens at least 60 days at 5–14 °C. Made in 7 steps over 2 months. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 2 months (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…) and runs at 5–14 °C (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[onaf-sheet][eu-single-doc]Ripen
Temperature5–14 °CSet[onaf-sheet]Ripen

What makes this one different

Ossolano is semi-cooked at 42–45 °C and pressed, a method the specification links to the cold mountain climate, where heating helps the whey drain. Ossolano d'Alpe is made only on high summer pastures.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Ossolano d'AlpeMade on alpine pastures at 1400 m or higher from 1–2 milkings, June to September; 5–6 kg; brown paper label instead of green

Safety

The PDO allows raw milk. ANSES names Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli as the risks of raw-milk cheeses and advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat them, except cooked pressed cheeses such as Gruyère; do not assume a semi-cooked cheese like this one qualifies.

History and sources

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

The ONAF sheet cites a parchment of 12 July 1006 in which Bishop Pietro of Novara leased land to a tenant for a yearly delivery of 100 pounds of cheese. Later documents show cheese paid as tax or tithe. The specification credits the Walser settlers, who came from Switzerland, with the semi-cooking step that drains whey in the cold climate. Regulation (EU) 2017/1788 registered the name as a PDO.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [eu-single-doc] European Commission 2017, Publication of an application for registration, single document 'Ossolano' (PDO-IT-02093), Official Journal of the European Union C 186, 10.6.2017, p. 16spec
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet Ossolano DOP (Reg. EU 2017/1788)web
  3. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov