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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Toma ajgra

Evening cow milk is left overnight in basins set in running water so the cream rises and the milk gains fermentation acidity. It is then mixed, cream and all, with the morning milk and set with calf rennet at 30–35 °C for 1–4 hours. The curd is cut once to rice-grain size, semi-cooked at 45–47 °C, pressed by hand into hoops and salted dry or in brine. It ripens from three months to a year into a hard, crumbly cheese without eyes.

Fully documentedCheese3.1 months – 12 monthsTraditional food product (PAT, Piemonte)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedA farm cheese with no fixed amounts; the sheets give no milk volume or rennet dose. A cheese weighs 2.0–3.0 kg. The regional sheet's opening line calls the milk part-skimmed by creaming, but its method and ONAF both say the cream is left in, and this page follows the method.
Raw cow milk from two milkings, mostly Bruna Alpina; the evening milk gains acidity overnightThe risen cream is left in[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Calf rennet[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt (dry or brine)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Starterthe evening milk is left to cream in basins in running water and has fermentation acidity by morning, when the morning milk is added

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.1 months – 12 months

Start
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What changes: Overnight in basins set in running water the cream rises and the milk gains acidity

Step 1 of 7
Cream the evening milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Evening milk stands overnight in basins set in running water; by morning the cream has risen and the milk has fermentation acidity.

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

Evening cow milk is left overnight in basins set in running water so the cream rises and the milk gains fermentation acidity. It is then mixed, cream and all, with the morning milk and set with calf rennet at 30–35 °C for 1–4 hours. The curd is cut once to rice-grain size, semi-cooked at 45–47 °C, pressed by hand into hoops and salted dry or in brine. It ripens from three months to a year into a hard, crumbly cheese without eyes. Made in 7 steps over 3.1 months – 12 months. The longest step, ripen, takes 3–12 months (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main step3–12 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen
Temperature30–35 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Mix and set the curd

What makes this one different

A hard, crumbly, eyeless toma made with high-acidity milk. The evening milk is left to cream in running water overnight and the cream stays in. Young cheeses taste of yogurt, and the regional sheet says it needs long ripening to be pleasant.

Rind
Fairly smooth, grey from surface moulds
Size
2.0–3.0 kg; cylinder ø about 20 cm, side 8–10 cm

Related ferments

Safety

The sheet names the creaming of the milk as the step to control and finds no other risks beyond normal cheesemaking. It says the medium-to-long ripening and the technology put the cheese in a medium-to-high band for meeting safety requirements. The milk is raw. The US FDA says ageing raw-milk cheese for 60 days may not eliminate or adequately reduce E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and Listeria may grow in some cheeses during ageing [fda-rawcheese2016]. ANSES advises pregnant women, people with weak immunity, people over 65 and young children to avoid raw-milk cheese, except cooked pressed cheeses such as Gruyère or Comté [anses2022].

History and sources

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

ONAF says the cheese reflects the old dairy tradition of making cheeses that keep their qualities for a long time.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460, Schede tecniche prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali (BU 38S1, 24/09/2015), category D product 30 'Toma ajgra' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Toma ajgra'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Toma ajgra' (id 472)web
  4. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov
  5. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov