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

Schnittkäse Dolomitenkönig (Formaggio da taglio Dolomitenkönig)Dolomitenkönig

Local cow milk, skimmed to 2.0–3% 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 20–80 days, first cold with the rind washed every two days with Brevibacterium linens and yeasts, then warm so that large eyes open.

Fully documentedCheese20 days – 2.6 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 8–9 kg.
Local cow milk, skimmed to 2.0–3% 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]
Starterlactic starter cultures; Brevibacterium linens and yeasts on the rind

Total time across the recorded steps: 20 days – 2.6 months

Start
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What changes: The skimmed mountain milk is pasteurised

Step 1 of 8
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
Lactic acid bacteria
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 2.0–3% 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 20–80 days, first cold with the rind washed every two days with Brevibacterium linens and yeasts, then warm so that large eyes open. Made in 8 steps over 20 days – 2.6 months. The longest step, ripen cold with a washed rind, takes 20 days – 2.6 months (Autonomous Province of Bolzano). Lactic acid bacteria and Brevibacterium linens do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step20 days – 2.6 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen cold with a washed rind
Temperature35–37 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Add cultures and rennet

What makes this one different

The only one of these South Tyrol slicing cheeses ripened in two phases. A cold phase with a washed rind is followed by a warm phase that opens cherry-size eyes. Its milk is skimmed further, to 2.0–3% fat, and the large 8–9 kg wheel tastes sweet and nutty.

Rind
Firm, rough, light yellow to straw; edible
Size
Wheel about 40 cm across and 9 cm high, top bulging from the large eyes, 8–9 kg
Eyes
Large irregular eyes the size of a cherry
Fat
Semi-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 Dolomitenkönig', bilingual German and Italiangov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Schnittkäse Dolomitenkönig'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Schnittkäse Dolomitenkönig' (id 1274)web