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Cheese from Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Prov. Trento

Provola e caciotta a pasta filata

Pasteurised or thermised cow milk is warmed to 37–40 °C with a natural or selected lactic starter and set with calf rennet in 12–16 minutes. The hazelnut-size curd is semi-cooked at 41–42 °C, left to sour on the bench until it can be stretched, then shaped into pears (provola) or ovals (caciotta). They are brined 2–3 hours in 18–20% brine, and the provola may be smoked about 2 hours at 35–40 °C.

Fully documentedCheese4.2 h – 5.3 hPAT (traditional food product, Provincia autonoma di Trento)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give no batch size. A cheese weighs 300–400 g.
Whole cow milk, pasteurised or thermisedFrom Bruna, Grigio Alpina and other cows fed on pasture or permanent-meadow hay, with no silage[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Natural milk starter or a selected starter[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Calf rennet[onaf-sheet]
Salt (brine of 18–20%)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Starternatural milk starter (latto-fermento) or selected culture

Total time across the recorded steps: 4.2 h – 5.3 h

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countS. thermophilusLactic acid bacteria37–40 °C

What changes: Starter goes into the warmed cow milk at 37–40 °C

Step 1 of 7
Warm the milk with starter
Time
Not documented
Temperature
37–40 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
S. thermophilus
Lactic acid bacteria

The milk is pasteurised or thermised first.

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

Pasteurised or thermised cow milk is warmed to 37–40 °C with a natural or selected lactic starter and set with calf rennet in 12–16 minutes. The hazelnut-size curd is semi-cooked at 41–42 °C, left to sour on the bench until it can be stretched, then shaped into pears (provola) or ovals (caciotta). They are brined 2–3 hours in 18–20% brine, and the provola may be smoked about 2 hours at 35–40 °C. Made in 7 steps over 4.2 h – 5.3 h. The longest step, brine, takes 2–3 h (Provincia autonoma di Trento 2013). Salt is 18–20 % (Provincia autonoma di Trento 2013). Streptococcus thermophilus, the starter of Scamorza, a related stretched-curd cow cheese made with a starter in a lab study does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2–3 hReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Brine
Temperature37–40 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Warm the milk with starter
Salt18–20 %Reported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Brine

What makes this one different

It is a fresh stretched-curd cheese from Trentino, made from heat-treated milk with a starter and eaten within days. The provola can be cold-smoked for about 2 hours.

Rind
A thin, smooth, soft skin, white or brown if smoked
Size
Provola pear-shaped or oblong, caciotta oblong or cylindrical, 300–400 g
Storage
Eaten right after brining or smoking; if kept at all, a few days in a cold room
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Variants

  • Provola affumicataSmoked about 2 hours at 35–40 °C; brown skin.
  • CaciottaOval or cylindrical shape, not smoked.

Safety

The milk is pasteurised or thermised, and the sheet does not say which. Thermisation is a milder heat treatment than pasteurisation; the Tetra Pak handbook describes it as 65 °C for 15 seconds, after which the milk still tests phosphatase positive. The cheese is eaten right after brining or smoking, and any cheese held for a few days is kept in a cold room.

History and sources

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

A Trento dairy began making these cheeses largely by hand in 1969 and bought cutting and stretching machines in 1972; smoking is still done by hand. Its smoked provola won a silver medal at the 1974 Thiene dairy show.

  1. [pat-sheet] Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trentino Agricoltura, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, 'Provola e caciotta a pasta filata' (last updated 28 December 2013; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Provola e caciotta a pasta filata', PAT Trentino-Alto Adige (Prov. Autonoma Trento)web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Provola e caciotta a pasta filata' (id 787)web
  4. [tetrapak-cheese] Tetra Pak, Dairy Processing Handbook, chapter 16 Cheese, section on thermisationbook
  5. [guidone2015] Guidone A., Braghieri A., Cioffi S., Claps S., Genovese F., Morone G., Napolitano F., Parente E. 2015, Effect of adjuncts on microbiological and chemical properties of Scamorza cheese, Journal of Dairy Science 98, 1467-1478 (abstract; a lab-made scamorza with a Streptococcus thermophilus starter, not this cheese)paper