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Cheese from Italy, Toscana

Raviggiolo di pecora seneseRavaggiolo

A pudding-soft sheep-milk curd from the Crete Senesi, drained in small bowls. Whole milk is warmed to about 38 °C and set with powdered dried lamb stomach or fig latex; as soon as it sets, the uncut curd is ladled into small perforated bowls to drain. It is chilled overnight and eaten within days.

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give the method, not a batch recipe. A cheese weighs about 400 g; about 11 dairies make 150–200 quintals a year.
Whole sheep milk, mostly from Sarda sheep[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Powdered natural rennet (dried lamb stomach) or fig latex[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Lactic culture (only when the milk is pasteurised)[onaf-sheet]
Salt (only if the buyer asks)[onaf-sheet]
Starterlactic culture, added when the milk is pasteurised
Start
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38 °C

What changes: Sheep milk warmed to about 38 °C gets powdered lamb rennet or fig latex

Step 1 of 4
Warm the milk and add rennet
Time
Not documented
Temperature
38 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The traditional vat was tinned copper, which spreads the heat evenly.

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

A pudding-soft sheep-milk curd from the Crete Senesi, drained in small bowls. Whole milk is warmed to about 38 °C and set with powdered dried lamb stomach or fig latex; as soon as it sets, the uncut curd is ladled into small perforated bowls to drain. It is chilled overnight and eaten within days.

Key numbers
Temperature38 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Warm the milk and add rennet

What makes this one different

The curd is never cut; it is ladled whole into small bowls as soon as it sets, so it keeps a soft pudding texture. ONAF calls the cheese made in May and June, on fresh spring grass, the most interesting.

Size
Takes the shape of the bowl, about 400 g
Rind
None; milk-white
Season
ONAF gives both March–October and October–March in different fields; production follows orders

Related ferments

Safety

Raw-milk raviggiolo should be eaten within 4–5 days and kept at 4–5 °C (ONAF). It is a fresh, unripened cheese. 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 from 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 credits its character to an unchanged traditional method and local sheep milk. Rising demand for sheep cheeses has led its dairies to update their rooms.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Toscana (ARSIA), Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, sheet «Raviggiolo di pecora senese» (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet «Raviggiolo di pecora senese»web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page «Raviggiolo di pecora senese» (id 944)web
  4. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov