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Cheese from Portugal, Beira Baixa

Requeijão da Beira Baixa

Requeijão da Beira Baixa is a boundary entry, set by heat, not by microbes. Sheep and goat whey left from the three Beira Baixa PDO cheeses is strained, heated to 80–90 °C with slow stirring until flakes float up, then the heat is lowered and stirring stopped for 15–30 minutes, until just before boiling. The flakes are ladled into small wicker or plastic baskets and presented as a fresh, unfermented product.

Fully documentedCheese15 min – 30 minPDO (EU, 2014)Family: Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe single document gives no batch size or recipe beyond the limit that water and milk together are at most 10 % of the whey volume. Each piece weighs 150–400 g.
Sheep and goat whey from making the Beira Baixa PDO cheesesStrained to remove the remains of the curd[rbb-sd2013]
Raw sheep or goat milk and potable water from the production areaWater and milk together up to 10 % of the total volume of the whey usedWater is added if salt forms in the milk; a small amount of sheep or goat milk is usually added just before boiling to get a larger, thicker mass[rbb-sd2013]
Starternone; heat makes the curd

Total time across the recorded steps: 15 min – 30 min

Start
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What changes: Starting material: sheep and goat whey from Beira Baixa cheesemaking, strained

Step 1 of 5
Strain the whey
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The whey is the by-product of making the Beira Baixa cheeses in the same area. It is strained to remove the remains of the curd, and water is added if salt forms in the milk.

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

Requeijão da Beira Baixa is a boundary entry, set by heat, not by microbes. Sheep and goat whey left from the three Beira Baixa PDO cheeses is strained, heated to 80–90 °C with slow stirring until flakes float up, then the heat is lowered and stirring stopped for 15–30 minutes, until just before boiling. The flakes are ladled into small wicker or plastic baskets and presented as a fresh, unfermented product. Made in 5 steps over 15 min – 30 min. The longest step, let the flakes rise, takes 15–30 min (European Commission 2013).

Key numbers
Main step15–30 minSet[rbb-sd2013]Let the flakes rise
Temperature80–90 °CSet[rbb-sd2013]Heat with slow stirring

What makes this one different

Made only from the whey of the three Beira Baixa PDO cheeses and drained into small wicker or plastic baskets that leave a truncated cone with a criss-cross pattern.

Size
Truncated cone with a basket pattern, 150–400 g
Composition
Moisture 60–70 %; fat 14–19 g, protein 10–13 g and ash 1.4–1.8 g per 100 g
Boundary
Set by heat; sold as a fresh, unfermented product

Related ferments

Safety

A storage study at 4 °C found no bacteria (under 10 CFU/g) on the day of making, but high counts of Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Enterobacteriaceae and lactic acid bacteria after storage, packed or not. Vacuum packing, with the acid that built up under it, held back yeasts, staphylococci, enterococci and spore-forming clostridia (Pintado and Malcata 2000). The single document allows packing only in the production area, and allows vacuum packing.

Hazards the sources name: Staphylococci and spore-forming clostridia (held back by vacuum packing in the same study); Enterobacteriaceae, which reached high counts in stored requeijão, packed or not, in the same study.

History and sources

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

The application was published in the Official Journal in 2013 and the name was entered in the register of protected designations of origin by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 327/2014 of 26 March 2014.

  1. [reg327] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 327/2014 of 26 March 2014 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications [Requeijão da Beira Baixa (PDO)], OJ L 98, 1.4.2014, p. 7, via publications.europa.euspec
  2. [rbb-sd2013] European Commission 2013, publication of an application, single document 'Requeijão da Beira Baixa', OJ C 312, 26.10.2013, p. 26 (2013/C 312/15), via publications.europa.euspec
  3. [pintado2000] Pintado M.E., Malcata F.X. 2000, Characterization of whey cheese packaged under vacuum, Journal of Food Protection 63(2):216–221 (abstract)paper