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Cheese from Italy, Trentino

Spressa delle Giudicarie PDO

Raw cow milk from two or three milkings is partly skimmed by letting the cream rise, then warmed and set with bovine rennet at 35 ± 2 °C in 20–50 minutes. The curd is cut to rice-grain size, semi-cooked at 42 ± 2 °C, moulded, and after 24 hours salted dry or in brine for 8–12 days. It ripens at 10–20 °C for at least three months (young) or six months (mature).

Fully documentedCheese3.3 months – 3.4 monthsPDO (EU), Reg. (EC) No 2275/2003; amended by Reg. (EU) No 480/2010Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives conditions, not doses. Wheels weigh 7–10 kg and are 30–35 cm across.
Raw milk of Rendena, Bruna, Grigio Alpina, Frisona and Pezzata Rossa cows fed hay from permanent meadows, from two or three milkings, partly skimmed by natural creamingMilk from summer mountain pastures (malga) and from cows fed only grass or any silage is excluded[spressa-2003][spressa-2009]
Bovine rennet[spressa-2003]
Salt, dry or as brine[spressa-2003]
Startera natural milk starter of bacteria selected in the area from the milk of well-run stables (ONAF sheet)

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.3 months – 3.4 months

Start
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What changes: Cream rises on the resting milk and part of it is skimmed off

Step 1 of 6
Skim by natural creaming
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The milk of two or three milkings rests until the cream rises and is partly taken off.

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 from two or three milkings is partly skimmed by letting the cream rise, then warmed and set with bovine rennet at 35 ± 2 °C in 20–50 minutes. The curd is cut to rice-grain size, semi-cooked at 42 ± 2 °C, moulded, and after 24 hours salted dry or in brine for 8–12 days. It ripens at 10–20 °C for at least three months (young) or six months (mature). Made in 6 steps over 3.3 months – 3.4 months. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 3 months (Publication of an application for registratio…) and runs at 10–20 °C (Publication of an application for registratio…).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 monthsSet[spressa-2003]Ripen
Temperature10–20 °CSet[spressa-2003]Ripen

What makes this one different

Made from raw milk skimmed by natural creaming, which makes it a low-fat cheese; the cows must be fed hay, and milk from grass-only or silage-fed cows is excluded.

Types
Giovane (at least 3 months) and stagionata (at least 6 months)
Fat
Fat 33–43 % of dry matter since the 2009 amendment (was 29–39 %); moisture 32–40 % young, 28–38 % mature
Size
7–10 kg, 30–35 cm across, heel 8–11 cm

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk; the specification sets a minimum of three months' ripening. The CDC says people at higher risk, including pregnant women, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity, should avoid raw-milk cheese unless it is heated to 165 °F (74 °C) or until steaming hot.

History and sources

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

The specification says production was first confined to small parts of Val del Chiese and Val Rendena and spread across the Giudicarie and Ledro valleys, never into other parts of Trentino. The 2003 application cites the 'Regola di Spinale e Manez' of 1249 and, for 1915 and 1916, Marini's 'Urbario', which names 'Spressa da polenta' as a typical cheese.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [spressa-2003] Publication of an application for registration, 'Spressa delle Giudicarie' PDO, OJ C 88, 11.4.2003, p. 12 (Italian text, copy hosted by ONAF)spec
  2. [spressa-2009] European Commission 2009, amendment application and single document 'Spressa delle Giudicarie', EC No IT-PDO-0105-0252-23.11.2006, OJ C 238, 3.10.2009spec
  3. [spressa-onaf] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Spressa delle Giudicarie'web
  4. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov