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Cheese from Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Provincia di Trento

Tosèla

Whole cow milk from one fresh milking is thermised at 60–65 °C or pasteurised, set with bovine rennet at about 39 °C in about 20 minutes and cut to walnut size. The curd goes into plastic moulds with a little whey, is turned 3–4 times and chilled at 4–6 °C, ready to eat the same day with no salt. It is a rennet-set fresh curd with no ripening.

Fully documentedCheese25 min – 30 minTraditional food product (PAT, Provincia autonoma di Trento)Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedMade in valley dairies and on summer pastures; the sheets give no doses. A cheese weighs 1–5 kg.
Whole cow milk from one fresh milkingBruna, Grigio Alpina and other breeds[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Bovine rennet[pat-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 25 min – 30 min

Start
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60–65 °C

What changes: The fresh milk is heated to 60–65 °C before cheesemaking

Step 1 of 5
Thermise or pasteurise the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
60–65 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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 from one fresh milking is thermised at 60–65 °C or pasteurised, set with bovine rennet at about 39 °C in about 20 minutes and cut to walnut size. The curd goes into plastic moulds with a little whey, is turned 3–4 times and chilled at 4–6 °C, ready to eat the same day with no salt. It is a rennet-set fresh curd with no ripening. Made in 5 steps over 25 min – 30 min. The longest step, set with rennet, takes 20 min (Provincia autonoma di Trento 2013) and runs at 39 °C (Provincia autonoma di Trento 2013).

Key numbers
Main step20 minReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Set with rennet
Temperature39 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Set with rennet

What makes this one different

An unsalted curd of the day, never ripened, usually cooked in butter.

Rind
None
Size
Cylinder or block, 1–5 kg
Season
Made all year
Keeping
The Taste Trentino page says it should be eaten within 2-3 days of production

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is thermised at 60–65 °C or pasteurised, and the cheese is chilled at 4–6 °C and eaten fresh.

History and sources

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

The provincial sheet says it was made in Primiero by farmers with too little milk for other cheeses, then moved to summer-pasture huts and valley dairies, also in other parts of Trentino and nearby Veneto. The ONAF sheet says the name comes from the trimming (tosatura) of the curd that stands above the mould rim when the fresh curd is shaped. The Taste Trentino page says that in the past it was made at home from freshly milked milk.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trentino Agricoltura, traditional food products (PAT), sheet 'Tosèla' (updated 2013-12-28; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Tosèla'web
  3. [tastetrentino] Taste Trentino (Trentino Marketing), product page 'Tosèla di Primiero'web