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Cheese from Italy, Abruzzo

Scamorza abruzzese

Raw whole cow milk is warmed to 36–38 °C, soured with a milk or whey starter of thermophilic lactic bacteria and set with calf rennet in about 30 minutes. The curd is cut to hazelnut size and left under whey about 3 hours at 35–36 °C until it reaches pH 5.15–5.30, then stretched in water at 80–90 °C and shaped by hand. It is eaten fresh within 48 hours or hung to dry 7–10 days.

Fully documentedCheese7.2 days – 10 daysPAT (traditional agri-food product, Abruzzo)Family: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheet gives temperatures and times, not doses or batch sizes. Each scamorza weighs 80–400 g.
Raw whole cow milk, filteredPezzata Nera, Bruna Alpina, Pezzata Rossa or crosses[abruzzo-pat][onaf-sheet]
Milk starter or whey starter (latte-innesto or siero-innesto)Mostly thermophilic lactic bacteria[abruzzo-pat][onaf-sheet]
Calf rennet, powder or liquidThe dose depends on its strength and on the milk's acidity[abruzzo-pat]
SaltDissolved in the stretching water or as brine[abruzzo-pat][onaf-sheet]
Startermilk or whey starter, mostly thermophilic lactic bacteria

Total time across the recorded steps: 7.2 days – 10 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria36–38 °C

What changes: Milk or whey starter goes into the raw milk at 36–38 °C

Step 1 of 7
Warm the milk and add the starter
Time
30 min
Reported
Temperature
36–38 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
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 whole cow milk is warmed to 36–38 °C, soured with a milk or whey starter of thermophilic lactic bacteria and set with calf rennet in about 30 minutes. The curd is cut to hazelnut size and left under whey about 3 hours at 35–36 °C until it reaches pH 5.15–5.30, then stretched in water at 80–90 °C and shaped by hand. It is eaten fresh within 48 hours or hung to dry 7–10 days. Made in 7 steps over 7.2 days – 10 days. The longest step, keep fresh or hang to dry, takes 7–10 days (Regione Abruzzo) and runs at 10–12 °C (Regione Abruzzo). Thermophilic lactic acid bacteria of the milk or whey starter does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step7–10 daysReported[abruzzo-pat][onaf-sheet]Keep fresh or hang to dry
Temperature10–12 °CReported[abruzzo-pat]Keep fresh or hang to dry
AciditypH 5.2–5.3Reported[abruzzo-pat][onaf-sheet]Sour under the whey

What makes this one different

Made from raw cow milk with a whey or milk starter and stretched by hand. It is sold fresh, to eat within 48 hours, or dried hanging for 7–10 days to a waxy skin.

Rind
Fresh none, porcelain white; dried, a thin smooth straw-yellow skin
Weight
80–400 g, by shape and type
Composition
Indicative moisture 55–60%; fat in dry matter 38% fresh, 60% dried
Season
Made all year; spring milk from fresh pasture is most prized (ONAF)

Related ferments

Variants

  • FrescaNo rind, porcelain white, weeps buttermilk; eaten within 48 hours
  • AppassitaHung 7–10 days to a thin, smooth straw-yellow skin; firmer
  • AffumicataFresh scamorza smoked for several hours; kept 2–3 days (ONAF)

Safety

Made from raw milk. The sheet says stretching heats the curd to about 65 °C, cutting the microbial load by about 70%. Fresh scamorza is kept at 4 °C and eaten within 48 hours. NHS pregnancy advice says unpasteurised dairy foods may contain listeria, which can cause miscarriage or stillbirth.

History and sources

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

The sheet cites late-1600s accounts of the Ospedale S. Salvatore in L'Aquila, the Celestine monks' dairy at the Morrone abbey near Sulmona from the 1300s, and the Jacini inquiry of the 1880s. It stands as entry 46 in the Abruzzo section of the list of traditional agri-food products.

  1. [abruzzo-pat] Regione Abruzzo, PAT sheet 'Scamorza abruzzese'gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Scamorza abruzzese'web
  3. [abruzzo-elenco] Regione Abruzzo, Elenco dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, Allegato I, Regione Abruzzo section (entry 46, Scamorza abruzzese)gov
  4. [nhs-preg] NHS (UK), Foods to avoid in pregnancy (cheese and dairy section)gov