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Cheese from Italy, Lombardia

Robiola della Valsassina

Fresh raw whole cow milk is set with calf rennet, and the curd is broken to hazelnut size and put into square Taleggio moulds lined with cloth. It is dry-salted twice at 5–6 °C, then rubbed with salt water for 15–20 days, cut into four and ripened at least 30 days in caves. It ripens from the rind inwards and is creamy and yellowish under the rind.

Fully documentedCheese46 days – 2.7 monthsPAT (traditional agri-food product, Lombardia)Family: Washed-rind (smear-ripened) cheese family (Munster and Époisses as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give the method, not doses or batch sizes. Each finished square weighs 300–400 g.
Raw whole cow milk, freshly milked[lombardia-pat][onaf-sheet]
Liquid calf rennet[onaf-sheet]
SaltDry salt, then salt water rubbed on the rind[lombardia-pat][onaf-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 46 days – 2.7 months

Start
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35 °C

What changes: Calf rennet goes into the fresh raw milk and sets it at 35 °C

Step 1 of 6
Set the fresh milk with rennet
Time
15 min
Reported
Temperature
35 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk is worked straight after milking. Output: curd.

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

Fresh raw whole cow milk is set with calf rennet, and the curd is broken to hazelnut size and put into square Taleggio moulds lined with cloth. It is dry-salted twice at 5–6 °C, then rubbed with salt water for 15–20 days, cut into four and ripened at least 30 days in caves. It ripens from the rind inwards and is creamy and yellowish under the rind. Made in 6 steps over 46 days – 2.7 months. The longest step, ripen in caves, takes 30 days – 2 months (Regione Lombardia). Oospora crustacea, a fungus on the rind encouraged by rubbing with salt water; it colours the rind yellow-red does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step30 days – 2 monthsReported[lombardia-pat][onaf-sheet]Ripen in caves
Temperature35 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Set the fresh milk with rennet

What makes this one different

A Taleggio-type cheese from raw milk worked straight after milking. It is rubbed with salt water for 15–20 days, cut from a larger block into four, and ripened in Valsassina caves.

Rind
Thin, wrinkled, with grey moulds over a yellow-reddish coat from the salt-water rubbing
Size
Square, 10 cm a side and 4 cm high
Weight
300–400 g
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk and eaten after about 30 days. Salting is done at 5–6 °C and the cheese ripens in cold caves or cellars. The US FDA says ageing raw-milk cheese for 60 days may not remove E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and Listeria may grow in some cheeses while they age. The CDC says people at higher risk, including pregnant women, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity, should avoid raw-milk cheese 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

Regione Lombardia gives two origins for the name robiola, the Latin rubere, to redden, for the rind of very ripe cheeses, and the town of Robbio Lomellina, which claims it. It says the cheese began as a rather humble one and has since been much revalued. Introbio is the centre of production.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [lombardia-pat] Regione Lombardia, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, page 'Robiola della Valsassina' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Robiola della Valsassina'web
  3. [formaggio-it] Formaggio.it, page 'Robiola della Valsassina P.A.T.' (production, raw milk at 35 °C with calf rennet, dry salting, ripening in caves or cellars)web
  4. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov
  5. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov