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Cheese from Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Prov. Bolzano

Schnittkäse Bela Badia (Formaggio da taglio Bela Badia)Bela Badia

Local cow milk, skimmed to 3.0–4.0% fat and pasteurised, is set with lactic cultures and rennet at 35–37 °C. The curd is cut, sometimes washed with hot water, only semi-cooked at 39–40 °C when it will ripen longer, moulded without pressing and brined. The wheels ripen 20–100 days while the rind is washed every two days with water, salt and sometimes Brevibacterium linens and yeasts.

Fully documentedCheese20 days – 3.3 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Autonomous Province of Bolzano, 21st national list, 2021)Family: Washed-rind (smear-ripened) cheese family (Munster and Époisses as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedMade in dairies; the sheets give no amounts or batch size. A whole cheese weighs 2–3 kg.
Local cow milk, skimmed to 3.0–4.0% fat and pasteurised[pat-sheet]
Lactic acid bacteria (starter cultures)[pat-sheet]
Calf rennet, liquid or powder[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt, as brine[pat-sheet]
Brevibacterium linens and yeasts for the rind[pat-sheet]
Polymer coating (optional)[pat-sheet]
Starterlactic starter cultures; Brevibacterium linens and yeasts on the rind

Total time across the recorded steps: 20 days – 3.3 months

Start
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What changes: The skimmed mountain milk is pasteurised

Step 1 of 7
Skim and pasteurise the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Brevibacterium linens
Yeasts

The milk is pasteurised; the sheets give no time or temperature.

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

Local cow milk, skimmed to 3.0–4.0% fat and pasteurised, is set with lactic cultures and rennet at 35–37 °C. The curd is cut, sometimes washed with hot water, only semi-cooked at 39–40 °C when it will ripen longer, moulded without pressing and brined. The wheels ripen 20–100 days while the rind is washed every two days with water, salt and sometimes Brevibacterium linens and yeasts. Made in 7 steps over 20 days – 3.3 months. The longest step, ripen with a washed rind, takes 20 days – 3.3 months (Autonomous Province of Bolzano). Brevibacterium linens and Yeasts on the rind do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step20 days – 3.3 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen with a washed rind
Temperature35–37 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Add cultures and rennet

What makes this one different

A small 2–3 kg wheel, named after nearby Val Badia but made in Val Pusteria, that ripens from 20 days. The curd may be washed with hot water and is only semi-cooked when the cheese will age longer; the soft paste tastes of butter and sour cream.

Rind
Thin, compact, no cracks, straw-yellow; not edible
Size
Cylinder about 17 cm across, 8–10 cm high, rounded edge, 2–3 kg
Eyes
Small, irregular, sparse eyes
Fat
Fat at least 45% of dry matter (full-fat)
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is pasteurised and the wheels ripen at least 20 days in cool, humid rooms. The provincial form asks for no hygiene exemption.

History and sources

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

The provincial form ties it to a long run of cheesemaking in Val Pusteria, especially at the Brunico dairy. It entered the national PAT list in its 21st update, in March 2021.

  1. [pat-sheet] Autonomous Province of Bolzano, product identification form (art. 8 D.lgs. 173/98), 'Schnittkäse / Formaggio da taglio Bela Badia', bilingual German and Italiangov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Schnittkäse Bela Badia'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Schnittkäse Bela Badia' (id 1272)web