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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Tuma molaTuma 'd l'eva (Valle Po, Cuneo)

Raw cow milk from one milking is creamed overnight in a home pot, then soured with acid whey from the last make and left 24–36 hours at 16–20 °C until it sets with no rennet. The weak curd is cut, warmed with 60 °C water, ladled into small moulds and eaten the same or the next day.

Fully documentedCheese37 h – 2.1 daysTraditional food product (PAT, Piemonte; D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460)Family: Fresh lactic (acid-set) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedFarm make in a home pot with no fixed amounts; the sheets give no doses. A cheese weighs 0.2–0.5 kg.
Raw cow milk from one milkingLeft about 12 hours at 16–20 °C and skimmed of the cream that rises[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Acid whey from the previous makeNo rennet is used[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Hot water at 60 °CPoured over the cut curd to help the whey run out[pat-sheet]
Pepper or other spicesoptionalOnce added to the surface of cheeses kept longer[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Starteracid whey from the previous make, added to the milk with no rennet

Total time across the recorded steps: 37 h – 2.1 days

Start
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16–20 °C

What changes: The cream rises on the raw milk overnight and is skimmed off

Step 1 of 5
Let the cream rise and skim it
Time
12 h
Reported
Temperature
16–20 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
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

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 cow milk from one milking is creamed overnight in a home pot, then soured with acid whey from the last make and left 24–36 hours at 16–20 °C until it sets with no rennet. The weak curd is cut, warmed with 60 °C water, ladled into small moulds and eaten the same or the next day. Made in 5 steps over 37 h – 2.1 days. The longest step, add acid whey and let the milk sour and set, takes 24–36 h (Regione Piemonte 2015) and runs at 16–20 °C (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main step24–36 hReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Add acid whey and let the milk sour and set
Temperature16–20 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Add acid whey and let the milk sour and set

What makes this one different

One of the few Italian cheeses set by acid alone, with no rennet. The milk sours for 24 to 36 hours at 16–20 °C with whey from the last batch, and the weak curd is firmed with hot water.

Rind
None when fresh; thin and ochre after a few days, sometimes with pepper
Size
0.2–0.5 kg; cylinder 10–11 cm across, side 5–7 cm

Related ferments

Safety

The regional sheet notes that raw milk soured slowly without a starter can let unwanted microbes grow, while acid that builds quickly protects the cheese; clean milk and equipment are the key controls. 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.

History and sources

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

Once eaten both fresh and aged; few farms make it now, and some have changed the method slightly. In Valle Po it is called tuma 'd l'eva after the water added to set the curd.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, Schede tecniche prodotti PAT 2015 (BU38S1, 24/09/2015; D.D. 24 luglio 2015 n. 460), Categoria D prodotto n. 49, 'Tuma mola'gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Tuma mola'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Tuma mola' (id 759)web
  4. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov