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Cheese from Italy, Emilia-Romagna

Ribiola della BettolaIl ribiol

A semi-hard cheese of raw cow milk, sometimes mixed with sheep milk, partly skimmed by letting the cream rise. The milk is set with animal rennet at 35 °C for 50 minutes, the curd is broken by hand to rice-grain size and pressed in linen cloths, then dry-salted for 2–3 days on each side. It can be eaten after 2–3 months.

Fully documentedCheese2.1 months – 3.2 monthsPAT (traditional agri-food product, Regione Emilia-Romagna)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedArtisan dairy cheese; the sheets give no batch size or doses, and the size of each cheese varies.
Raw cow milk, sometimes mixed with sheep milkPartly skimmed by taking off the cream that rises[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Animal rennet (rennet paste in the regional sheet)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
SaltDry salt, put on by hand[pat-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.1 months – 3.2 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Cream rises on the raw milk and part of it is skimmed off

Step 1 of 6
Skim the risen cream
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk rests so the cream rises and part of it is taken off.

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 semi-hard cheese of raw cow milk, sometimes mixed with sheep milk, partly skimmed by letting the cream rise. The milk is set with animal rennet at 35 °C for 50 minutes, the curd is broken by hand to rice-grain size and pressed in linen cloths, then dry-salted for 2–3 days on each side. It can be eaten after 2–3 months. Made in 6 steps over 2.1 months – 3.2 months. The longest step, dry and ripen, takes 2–3 months (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…).

Key numbers
Main step2–3 monthsReported[onaf-sheet]Dry and ripen
Temperature35 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Warm and add rennet

What makes this one different

The milk is part-skimmed by cream rising and the curd is pressed in linen cloths, then dry-salted for days on each side. ONAF calls the cheese itself rather unique among Apennine products. The old family version mixed cow and sheep milk, and could be soaked in white wine and kept under oil until it turned sharp.

Shape
Cylinder with flat faces and a convex side; size varies
Rind
Thin, rough, straw-yellow
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

The cheese is made from raw milk and ripened 2–3 months. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheeses other than pressed cooked ones, because of Listeria, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin E. coli.

History and sources

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

Letters of Cardinal Giulio Alberoni (1664–1752), minister to King Philip V of Spain, wrote asking for robiole that the king called "della Bettola" to be sent. The ingredients for his working lunches came from the duchies of Parma and Piacenza. The cheese was once made for the family and sold only when there was too much, at fairs, markets and inns.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Emilia-Romagna, Agricoltura, caccia e pesca, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, page «Ribiola della Bettola, ill ribiol» (updated 2 December 2024)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet «Ribiola della Bettola»web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page «Ribiola della Bettola» (id 437)web
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov