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

Schnittkäse Ortler (Formaggio al taglio Ortles)Ortler

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, optionally semi-cooked at 39–40 °C, moulded without pressing and brined. The wheels ripen 30–100 days while the rind is washed every two days with water, salt and, where used, Brevibacterium linens and yeasts.

Fully documentedCheese30 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]
Rennet (the ONAF technical sheet names goat rennet; its cheese page lists calf)[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: 30 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
Lactic acid bacteria
Brevibacterium linens
Yeasts

The milk is pasteurised.

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, optionally semi-cooked at 39–40 °C, moulded without pressing and brined. The wheels ripen 30–100 days while the rind is washed every two days with water, salt and, where used, Brevibacterium linens and yeasts. Made in 7 steps over 30 days – 3.3 months. The longest step, ripen with a washed rind, takes 30 days – 3.3 months (Autonomous Province of Bolzano). Lactic acid bacteria and Brevibacterium linens do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step30 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 2–3 kg wheel made around the Ortles, the highest mountain in South Tyrol. Its curd may be semi-cooked, the rind is waxy and light brown, and the taste is nutty and savoury.

Rind
Compact, waxy, light brown; not edible
Size
Cylinder about 20 cm across and 9 cm high, 2–3 kg
Eyes
Small, irregular, fairly spread eyes
Fat
Full-fat
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is pasteurised and the wheels ripen at least 30 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 South Tyrol, especially on mountain farms. 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 Ortler / Formaggio al taglio Ortles', bilingual German and Italiangov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Schnittkäse Ortler'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Schnittkäse Ortler' (id 1293)web