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Cheese from France, Savoie and Haute-Savoie, with some municipalities of Ain and Isère

Raclette de Savoie PGI

Raw or thermised cow milk, mostly from Abondance, Montbéliarde and Tarentaise cows, is seeded with a thermophilic streptococcus and lactobacillus and set with calf rennet at 32–36 °C. The cut curd is stirred, warmed to no more than 40 °C, washed to remove lactose, pressed and left to sour for at least 5 hours before brining. The wheels ripen at least 8 weeks on wooden boards and grow a smeared yellow to brown rind.

Fully documentedCheese56 daysPGI (EU), entered in the register by Regulation (EU) 2017/138 of 16 January 2017; French specification approved by order of 29 October 2015Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives conditions, not doses. Wheels are 28–34 cm across and 6–7.5 cm high.
Cow milk, raw or thermised, may be partly skimmedPasteurisation, microfiltration and bactofugation are banned[rac-cdc]
Starter with at least one thermophilic streptococcus and one thermophilic lactobacillus[rac-cdc]
Rennet or macerated abomasum of unweaned calf[rac-cdc]
Calcium chloride (optional)[rac-cdc]
Salt, as a brine bath[rac-cdc]
Starterthermophilic streptococcus and thermophilic lactobacillus (required)

Total time across the recorded steps: 56 days

Start
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up to 8 °C

What changes: Starting material: cold-stored raw or thermised cow milk

Step 1 of 7
Store and prepare the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 8 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Streptococcus
Lactobacillus

The milk may be thermised and partly skimmed; pasteurisation and other treatments are banned.

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 or thermised cow milk, mostly from Abondance, Montbéliarde and Tarentaise cows, is seeded with a thermophilic streptococcus and lactobacillus and set with calf rennet at 32–36 °C. The cut curd is stirred, warmed to no more than 40 °C, washed to remove lactose, pressed and left to sour for at least 5 hours before brining. The wheels ripen at least 8 weeks on wooden boards and grow a smeared yellow to brown rind. Made in 7 steps over 56 days. The longest step, ripen on wooden boards, takes at least 56 days (INAO 2015). A thermophilic streptococcus and a thermophilic lactobacillus, the minimum seeding the specification requires does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 56 daysSet[rac-cdc][rac-eu2016]Ripen on wooden boards
Temperatureup to 8 °CSet[rac-cdc]Store and prepare the milk
AciditypH at least 5.5Set[rac-cdc][rac-eu2016]Ripen on wooden boards

What makes this one different

The specification requires thermophilic cultures and washing out lactose, to which it credits a low L-lactate level and a marked stringy melt. Wheels ripen at least eight weeks on wooden boards, and the PGI may use thermised as well as raw milk.

Size
Wheel 28–34 cm across and 6–7.5 cm high; a cuboid form is allowed for pre-packed slices
Composition
Dry matter at least 56 %; fat in dry matter 48–52 %; salt 1.4–2.2 %
Ripening
At least 8 weeks on wooden boards

Related ferments

Safety

Milk is held at 8 °C or less for at most 36 hours, or 4 °C or less for at most 48 hours, before renneting. The milk may be raw or thermised, and the cheese ripens at least 8 weeks, which is under 60 days. The US FDA says ageing raw-milk cheese for 60 days may not eliminate or adequately reduce E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and Listeria may grow in some cheeses while they age.

History and sources

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

The specification says herders in the Middle Ages ate a half wheel of cheese melted in front of a wood fire, and that the name raclette, from scraping the melted face, appeared in the early 20th century. It says raclette machines were developed in Savoie by the firms Rippoz and Téfal in about 1975, and that the growth of ski resorts in the 1970s added to the cheese's fame.

  1. [rac-cdc] INAO, Cahier des charges de la dénomination « Raclette de Savoie », homologated by the order of 29 October 2015 (JORF 7 November 2015), Bulletin officiel du Ministère de l'agriculture n° 46-2015spec
  2. [rac-eu2016] European Commission 2016, publication of an application, single document 'Raclette de Savoie' PGI-FR-02095, OJ C 261, 19.7.2016 (CELEX 52016XC0719(03)), via publications.europa.euspec
  3. [reg2017-138] European Commission 2017, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/138 of 16 January 2017 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Raclette de Savoie (PGI)) (copy on legislation.gov.uk)spec
  4. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov