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Cheese from Italy, Lombardy

Silter PDO

Raw cow milk is partly skimmed by letting the cream rise for at least eight hours, then made into a cooked curd that stays at least two hours in the vat under the whey. The pressed wheels of 10–16 kg are oiled and cleaned while they mature at least 100 days on wooden planks in cellars called silter, at a natural 7–20 °C.

Fully documentedCheese3.3 monthsPDO (EU), entered in the register by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1724 of 23 September 2015; minor amendment OJ C 166, 14.5.2020Family: Cooked hard alpine cheese family (Comté, Gruyère and Emmentaler as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives no doses. Wheels are 34–40 cm across and weigh 10–16 kg after maturing.
Raw cow milk, partly skimmed only by taking off the cream that rises naturallyAt least 80 % of the cows are mountain breeds, at least 60 % Bruna; no silage[silter-oj2015][silter-oj2020]
Starter selected from the native microflora of the area (optional)[silter-oj2020]
Starternative lactic flora of the raw milk; a starter kit selected from the native flora may be used

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.3 months

Start
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What changes: Cream rises from the raw milk for at least eight hours and is skimmed off

Step 1 of 5
Let the cream rise and skim
Time
at least 8 h
Set
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Streptococcus
Lactococcus
Lactococcus lactis
L. mesenteroides

Only the cream that rises naturally may be removed; the milk stays raw.

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 is partly skimmed by letting the cream rise for at least eight hours, then made into a cooked curd that stays at least two hours in the vat under the whey. The pressed wheels of 10–16 kg are oiled and cleaned while they mature at least 100 days on wooden planks in cellars called silter, at a natural 7–20 °C. Made in 5 steps over 3.3 months. The longest step, mature in the silter, takes at least 3.3 months (European Commission 2015) and runs at 7–20 °C (European Commission 2015). In PDO Silter cheese, Streptococcus and Lactococcus play the pivotal role. The dominant species were Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides (the species chosen for the autochthonous starter) and Lactobacillus paracasei does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3.3 monthsSet[silter-oj2015][silter-oj2020]Mature in the silter
Temperature7–20 °CReported[silter-oj2015][silter-oj2020]Mature in the silter

What makes this one different

A low-fat alpine cooked cheese from milk skimmed only by natural creaming, with the curd held at least two hours under the whey. It is named after the silter cellars where it matures.

Ripening
At least 100 days
Composition
Fat 27–45 % of dry matter; moisture at most 40 %
Size
34–40 cm across, heel 8–10 cm, 10–16 kg

Related ferments

Safety

Made only from raw milk and matured at least 100 days. A study of cheese from two dairies found that an autochthonous starter raised lactic bacteria in the first 30 days, and that high levels of lactic bacteria reduced harmful organisms; its abstract does not name them [silvetti2017]. CDC advises people who are pregnant, aged 65 or over, or have a weakened immune system, and newborns, to avoid any cheese made with raw milk because of Listeria [cdc-listeria].

History and sources

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

The 2015 single document says the cheese is made by age-old methods handed down from generation to generation by cheese-makers and farmers, on many holdings including small ones, and that its long maturation let the rural population keep it for a long time. It calls it the valley dwellers' main food source since time immemorial and says the name comes from the silter, the maturing premises. Italy's application was published in the Official Journal on 29 April 2015 (OJ C 142), and the name was entered in the EU register on 23 September 2015. A minor amendment was published on 14 May 2020 (OJ C 166).

  1. [reg-2015-1724] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1724 of 23 September 2015 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications [Silter (PDO)]spec
  2. [silter-oj2015] European Commission 2015, Publication of an application pursuant to Article 50(2)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, single document 'Silter' PDO-IT-1252, OJ C 142, 29.4.2015, p. 29 (Publications Office cellar copy)spec
  3. [silter-oj2020] European Commission 2020, Publication of the amended single document following approval of a minor amendment, 'Silter' PDO-IT-1252-AM01, OJ C 166, 14.5.2020, p. 20 (Publications Office cellar copy)spec
  4. [silvetti2017] Silvetti T., Capra E., Morandi S., Cremonesi P., Decimo M., Gavazzi F., Giannico R., De Noni I., Brasca M. 2017, Microbial population profile during ripening of PDO Silter cheese, produced with and without autochthonous starter culture, LWT 84:821–831 (abstract)paper
  5. [cdc-listeria] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Listeria prevention, safer food choices (cheese made with unpasteurized milk)gov