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Cheese from Italy, Lombardia

Semuda

Raw cow milk rests 48 hours in a wide basin so the cream rises, and it is skimmed heavily by hand. The lean milk is set with rennet at 35–36 °C, broken by hand, pressed by hand in cloth-lined hoops and dry-salted for 2 days. The wheels ripen more than 4 months, up to 18, in natural caves (crotti) or underground cellars.

Fully documentedCheese4.1 months – 18 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Lombardia)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedFarm process with no fixed amounts. A wheel weighs 2–3 kg on the regional sheet and about 4 kg on the ONAF sheet.
Raw cow milk, heavily skimmed by hand after resting[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Rennet (ONAF gives liquid calf rennet)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt, rubbed on by hand[pat-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 4.1 months – 18 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Cream rises on the resting milk and is skimmed off by hand

Step 1 of 6
Rest the milk and skim it
Time
2 days
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Enterococcus faecalis
Lactobacillus paracasei
Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactic acid bacteria
Moulds
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 cow milk rests 48 hours in a wide basin so the cream rises, and it is skimmed heavily by hand. The lean milk is set with rennet at 35–36 °C, broken by hand, pressed by hand in cloth-lined hoops and dry-salted for 2 days. The wheels ripen more than 4 months, up to 18, in natural caves (crotti) or underground cellars. Made in 6 steps over 4.1 months – 18 months. The longest step, ripen in a crotto, takes 4–18 months (Regione Lombardia). Enterococcus faecalis and Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step4–18 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen in a crotto
Temperature35–36 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Add rennet and set

What makes this one different

A lean cheese from milk skimmed hard by hand after 48 hours of creaming. The curd is pressed by hand in cloth, dry-salted for 2 days and ripened for months in the crotti of Lake Como.

Rind
Thin, fairly stiff, light straw with greenish mould colonies
Size
About 30 cm across and 8 cm high, markedly convex; 2–3 kg (regional sheet) or about 4 kg (ONAF)
Fat
Lean (magro), from heavily skimmed milk

Related ferments

Safety

The cheese is made from raw milk and ripens more than 4 months.

History and sources

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

ONAF says it has been made for at least four generations and should not be confused with Scimudin of upper Valtellina. In the past it was made in winter while the cows were in their stables.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Lombardia, list of traditional food products, sheet 'Semuda'gov
  2. [morandi2010] Morandi S., Brasca M., Lodi R. 2010, Microbial profile of Semuda cheese and genotypic, phenotypic and technological characterization of indigenous lactic acid bacteria, Scienza e Tecnica Lattiero-Casearia 61:139–152 (abstract, CNR IRIS record)paper
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Semuda'web
  4. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Semuda' (id 1030)web