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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Tomino canavesano fresco

A lactic-set cow cheese, unusual in Piedmont, where most tomini are rennet-set. Whole milk is pre-ripened to pH 6.40–5.80, then a very little rennet (5–15 cc per 100 litres) is added at 25–30 °C and the milk sets slowly over 6–12 hours. The uncut curd is ladled into small moulds, drained briefly and sold the next day.

Fully documentedCheese6 h – 12 hPAT (traditional agri-food product, Piemonte; D.D. 460/2015, product D 40)Family: Fresh lactic (acid-set) cheese family

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe regional sheet gives the rennet dose per 100 litres of milk. A single tomino weighs 40–70 g; a roll of 6 weighs about 300–400 g.
Whole cow milk, more and more often pasteurised[pat-sheet]
Rennet5–15 cc per 100 litres of milk[pat-sheet]
Salt, in the milk, on the surface or in the paste[pat-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 6 h – 12 h

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria20–30 °CpH 5.8–6.4Milk sugarLactic acid

What changes: Whole cow milk is left to sour slightly to pH 6.40–5.80

Step 1 of 5
Pre-ripen the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
20–30 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 5.8–6.4
Reported
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

lactic bacteria begin to sour the milk

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

A lactic-set cow cheese, unusual in Piedmont, where most tomini are rennet-set. Whole milk is pre-ripened to pH 6.40–5.80, then a very little rennet (5–15 cc per 100 litres) is added at 25–30 °C and the milk sets slowly over 6–12 hours. The uncut curd is ladled into small moulds, drained briefly and sold the next day. Made in 5 steps over 6 h – 12 h. The longest step, slow lactic set, takes 6–12 h (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main step6–12 hReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Slow lactic set
Temperature20–30 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Pre-ripen the milk
AciditypH 5.8–6.4Reported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Pre-ripen the milk

What makes this one different

A lactic-set tomino, made the way goat cheeses and Robiola di Roccaverano are, unlike the rennet-set tomini of Cuneo. The milk is soured first and takes 6–12 hours to set.

Size
Single 40–70 g, 6.0–8.0 cm across, 3.0–4.0 cm high; roll of 6 about 300–400 g
Rind
None, or so thin it is eaten with the paste

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is soured to pH 6.40–5.80 before setting and is more and more often pasteurised. The cheese is kept at 0–4 °C and sold the next day. Some makers still use raw milk. The CDC says pregnant women, newborns, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity should avoid any cheese made with raw milk unless it is heated to 165 °F (74 °C) or until steaming hot. It gives the same advice for queso fresco and similar fresh, soft cheeses, even when made with pasteurised milk.

History and sources

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

The ONAF sheet says the cheese is very old and was already made in the Middle Ages, if not earlier. It is small because it was made in families with very little milk. Canavese writers of the 19th and early 20th centuries mention it, and it was always on the table for the "marenda sinoira", an afternoon snack that nearly served as supper. The Piedmont sheet of 2015 lists it as a traditional agri-food product and cites Del Forno (1981), Doglio (1996) and a 1999 regional guide as evidence of at least twenty-five years of consistent practice.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460 (BU38S1, 24 September 2015), Schede tecniche prodotti PAT, category D product 40 'Tomino canavesano fresco' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Tomino canavesano fresco'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Tomino canavesano fresco' (id 481)web
  4. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov