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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Tomino delle Valli Saluzzesi

Whole cow milk, usually pasteurised, is set with calf rennet at 32–38 °C in 30–45 minutes and cut only to walnut size so the curd stays moist. It drains 30–60 minutes in plastic moulds and goes straight into a 4 °C cold room, ready to sell after 12 hours. It is a rennet-set fresh cheese with no ripening.

Fully documentedCheese1 h – 1.8 hTraditional food product (PAT, Piemonte)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceDoses are given per 100 litres of milk. A cheese weighs 100–150 g.
Whole cow milk, usually pasteurisedRaw milk is still used by some makers[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Animal rennetAbout 30–60 cc per 100 litres of milkLess with raw milk, more with pasteurised milk; the regional sheet says "animal", the ONAF sheet names calf[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Salt, dissolved in the milk100–300 g per 100 litres of milk (optional)[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 1 h – 1.8 h

Start
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What changes: A little salt may be stirred into the milk before renneting

Step 1 of 5
Salt the milk (optional)
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Salting is up to the maker; the cheese should taste of sweet milk and needs no salt.

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

Whole cow milk, usually pasteurised, is set with calf rennet at 32–38 °C in 30–45 minutes and cut only to walnut size so the curd stays moist. It drains 30–60 minutes in plastic moulds and goes straight into a 4 °C cold room, ready to sell after 12 hours. It is a rennet-set fresh cheese with no ripening. Made in 5 steps over 1 h – 1.8 h. The longest step, drain briefly in moulds, takes 30 min – 1 h (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main step30 min – 1 hReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Drain briefly in moulds
Temperature32–38 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Set with calf rennet

What makes this one different

A rennet-set fresh tomino with no ripening, unlike the lactic-set Tomino canavesano. ONAF likens its method to the raviggiolo of the Apennines.

Rind
None
Size
Low cylinder 6–8 cm across, side 3–5 cm, 100–150 g
Season
Made all year

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is usually pasteurised because the cheese is so moist, and it is kept at 4 °C until sale. It is meant to be eaten within a day or two. 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.

Hazards the sources name: Coagulase-positive staphylococci, E. coli and Enterobacteriaceae were high early in the making of a related Piedmont cow's milk cheese made from raw milk, Toma tipo Piemonte (Turin province; six batches from two producers), and fell over its 60–90 days of ripening, which this tomino does not get; staphylococci passed 5 log CFU/g in some cheeses, and no staphylococcal enterotoxin was found in the samples tested. Not measured in this tomino; its milk is usually pasteurised and sometimes raw.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet says this tomino and the local tuma were made on every farm with cattle, once from part-skimmed milk and now from whole milk, always to be eaten 12 to 24 hours after making. The ONAF sheet adds, about tomini in general, that they were prized in Turin shops and at the Savoy court, and that in 1798 the cheesemaker Giovan Battista Scaravatti was hired to make them fresh for the king's table alone; Napoleon had him granted a pension in 1806.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460, technical sheets of traditional food products (BU 38 S1, 24 September 2015), product D 46 'Tomino delle Valli Saluzzesi' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Tomino delle valli saluzzesi'web
  3. [astegiano2014] Astegiano S, Bellio A, Adriano D, Bianchi DM, Gallina S, Gorlier A, Gramaglia M, Lombardi G, Macori G, Zuccon F, Decastelli L (2014) Evaluation of Hygiene and Safety Criteria in the Production of a Traditional Piedmont Cheese. Italian Journal of Food Safety 3(3):1705paper
  4. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov