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Cheese from Slovenia, Zgornje Posočje

Tolminc PDOTolminc

Raw or thermised milk, at least 80 % from brown cows, is matured for at least 12 hours so its own microflora sours it, then set with rennet at 32–34 °C for 25–35 minutes. The curd is cut to hazelnut size and heated to 44–48 °C, pressed 6–12 hours and brined 24–48 hours. The wheels mature at least 60 days.

Fully documentedCheese2 months – 2.1 monthsPDO (EU), Regulation (EU) No 187/2012Family: Cooked hard alpine cheese family (Comté, Gruyère and Emmentaler as templates)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification gives temperatures and times but no doses. Wheels weigh 3.5–5 kg, 23–27 cm across and 8–9 cm high.
Cow milk from the Zgornje Posočje area, raw or thermised at 57–68 °CAt least 80 % from cows of the brown breed; at least 75 % of the feed dry matter from the area[tolminc-eu2011]
Home-made starter (a little milk ripened warm for at least 12 hours) or selected culturesOptional, to speed up fermentation[tolminc-eu2011]
Rennet[tolminc-eu2011]
Salt brine[tolminc-eu2011]
Startermatured milk (at least 12 hours); home-made or selected cultures allowed

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months – 2.1 months

Start
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Milk proteinGel (curd)

What changes: The milk stands at least 12 hours while its own bacteria sour it

Step 1 of 7
Mature the milk
Time
at least 12 h
Set
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Fresh milk may be added to the matured milk before coagulation.

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 or thermised milk, at least 80 % from brown cows, is matured for at least 12 hours so its own microflora sours it, then set with rennet at 32–34 °C for 25–35 minutes. The curd is cut to hazelnut size and heated to 44–48 °C, pressed 6–12 hours and brined 24–48 hours. The wheels mature at least 60 days. Made in 7 steps over 2 months – 2.1 months. The longest step, mature, takes at least 2 months (Publication of an application 2004). Autochthonous microflora of the matured raw milk, or home-made or selected starter cultures; the specification names no species does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[tolminc-eu2011]Mature
Temperature32–34 °CSet[tolminc-eu2011]Set with rennet

What makes this one different

Its milk is first matured at least 12 hours so the valley's own microflora sours it, and the curd is heated only to 44–48 °C, lower than the big cooked alpine wheels.

Milk
Raw or thermised cow milk, at least 80 % from brown cows
Ripening
At least 60 days
Composition
At least 60 % dry matter and at least 45 % fat in dry matter

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw or thermised (57–68 °C) cow milk, and the label must say which. Each batch must mature at least 60 days, and producers keep ripening records. The specification says the milk's own microflora, developed during the 12-hour milk ripening, hampers harmful microorganisms. It sets no pH or salt limit. The microflora claim is not a safety guarantee. In a study that deliberately added low levels of E. coli O157:H7 to raw milk for Cheddar and Gouda, counts fell during ageing, but it was still detectable after selective enrichment past 270 days. The authors suggest that 60 days alone does not eliminate it in those cheeses. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity to avoid raw-milk cheeses other than cooked pressed ones such as Gruyère or Comté. No source we read says whether Tolminc, heated only to 44–48 °C, counts as one of those.

History and sources

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

Tolminc cheese is recorded as a means of paying taxes in the 13th century and appears as 'Formaggio di Tolmino' on an Udine price list in 1756. In 1886 a Swiss master, Thomas Hitz, made hard cheese on the Razor mountain pasture. The Tolmin land register of 1377 already lists payment in cheese among the duties owed to the patriarch. From the late 19th century the local cheese was sold as a commodity, and a collective trademark and the PDO followed.

  1. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov
  2. [damico2010] D'Amico D.J., Druart M.J., Donnelly C.W. 2010, Behavior of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during the manufacture and aging of Gouda and stirred-curd Cheddar cheeses manufactured from raw milk, Journal of Food Protection 73:2217–2224 (abstract)paper
  3. [tolminc-eu2011] Publication of an application, 'Tolminc', EC No SL-PDO-0005-0422-29.10.2004, Official Journal of the European Union C 185, 25.6.2011, p. 14 (Publications Office copy)spec
  4. [tolminc-reg2012] Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 187/2012 entering 'Tolminc' (PDO) in the register, Official Journal L 69, 8.3.2012 (Publications Office copy)spec
  5. [tolmuz-planika] Marko Grego, 'From Mountains to Dairies', permanent exhibition text, Tolminski muzej (Tolmin Museum), Planika Dairy, Kobaridweb
  6. [ledinek2020] Špela Ledinek Lozej, 'Znamčenje tolminskega sira' (Branding Tolmin cheese), Traditiones 49(3), 2020, doi 10.3986/Traditio2020490304 (abstract)paper