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Fermentation Atlas

Fresh acid-set cheeses

Milk set slowly by lactic bacteria, drained and eaten fresh.

55 entries listed here.

How these cheeses are made

The shared make of fresh lactic (acid-set) cheese family. Each cheese below says what it does differently.

  1. Heat-treat the milk0.2–1 min · 62–90 °C
  2. Add starter and let the milk sour slowly7 h – 2 days · 20–30 °C
  3. Cut and warm the curd40 °C
  4. Drain in cloth45 min – 24 h · 20–28 °C
  5. Pack and keep cold

Compare them

CheeseRegionMilkRipeningRind
Afuega'l Pitu PDOSpain, central-western AsturiasWhole cow milk, pasteurised unless the cheese ripens 60 days5 to 60 days
Agrì di ValtortaItaly, Lombardiaat least 7 daysNone (white, moist); thin wrinkled yellow or grey skin forms with maturation
AnevatoGreeceSheep milk, goat milk or a mixAt least 2 months
BundzPoland, PodhaleEwe milk; the related PDO cheeses oscypek and bryndza allow up to 40 % Polish Red cow milkEaten fresh; or soured about two weeks for bryndza
BüscionSwitzerland, Ticino36 h
Caprino a coagulazione latticaItaly, Lombardia7–10 days
Casatella Trevigiana PDOItaly, VenetoWhole cow milk from Treviso province, raw or pasteurised4–8 days at 2–8 °C
Cervelle de canutFrance, LyonNone; French law makes fromage blanc an unripened cheese
FaisselleFranceFresh pasteurised milk enriched with cream skimmed on site (Label Rouge)4–6.5 h
Formaggio AcidinoItaly, Veneto15–20 hNone
Formaggio caprino morbidoItaly, Friuli Venezia Giulia24 hNone
Galotyri PDOGreece, Epirus and ThessalySheep milk, goat milk or a mixat least 2 months
JbenMoroccoCow, goat or mixed milk; in the 2024 study fatty-acid profiles showed cow or mixed jben sold as goat jben24 h – 10 days
Karish / AreeshEgypt, village households24 h – 3 days
Labneh balls in oil (labneh makbouseh, labneh anbaris balls)Lebanon7–15 days
Lietuviškas varškės sūris PGILithuania12 h
Liptovská bryndza PDOSlovakia, Liptov regionRaw sheep milk; the breeds named are native and improved Wallachian, Cigaya, East Frisian and Lacaune, and crossbreeds14–28 days
Majevički dimljeni sir ZaracBosnia and Herzegovina, Majevica mountain in the north-eastRaw cow milk, partly skimmed by hand after natural souringat least 3 days
MottaItaly, Piemonte7–14 daysIrregular, pale yellow to hazelnut; none or slightly mouldy
Petit-suisseFrance24 h
Pichtogalo ChanionGreece, Crete24 h
Quagliata ligure (Prescinsêua)Italy, Liguria2 days
QuarkGermany and AustriaUsually skim milk20 h
Queso costeñoColombia, Caribbean coastWhole fresh cow milk, raw in artisanal makingNone; the cheese is pressed and not ripened, with high salt and low moisture
Queso crema de ChiapasMexico, ChiapasRaw cow milkFrom about one week to more than three months
Queso de cabra (Chilean goat)ChileRaw goat milk on farmsSold fresh; 28 days in an improved method
Queso duro blandito / queso secoHonduras and El SalvadorMilk standardised to 2–2.5% fat and pasteurised in the Zamorano studyThe Zamorano thesis calls queso seco a ripened cheese with under 40% moisture; the Salvadoran standard lists queso duro among unripened cheeses
Queso panelaMexico1 h
Requeijão cremosoBrazil10 min
Rögös túró TSGHungary4–20 h
Squacquerone di Romagna PDOItaly, Emilia-Romagna24 h – 4 days
Stracchino / CrescenzaLombardy, northern ItalyPasteurised cow milkNone; chilled about 7 days, then sold fresh with a shelf life of about 20 days
Suzma / chakkaCentral Asia8–10 h
Tome fraîche de l'Aubrac PGI (aligot curd)France, Aubrac plateauat least 20 h
Tomino canavesano asciuttoItaly, Piemonte6–12 hNone, or so thin it is eaten with the paste
Tomino canavesano frescoItaly, Piemonte6–12 hNone, or so thin it is eaten with the paste
TsalafoutiGreece, central and southern Pindusup to 12 daysNone; a creamy white spread
Tuma molaItaly, Piemonte24–36 hNone when fresh; thin and ochre after a few days, sometimes with pepper
TvorogRussia and BelarusPasteurised cow milk, skimmed or standardisedNone; eaten fresh
TwarógPolandPasteurised cow milk in the specification; raw cow milk on the farms studiedNone; twaróg is an unripened acid cheese
Xygalo Siteias PDOGreece, eastern CreteGoat and/or sheep milk of local breeds, raw or pasteurised7–10 days souring, then about one month at 10–15 °C
Katiki Domokou PDOGreece, Domokos area of the Othrys mountainsPasteurised goat milk, or goat and sheep milkNone; eaten fresh, kept cold
ByaslagMongoliaYak or cow milk, raw or boiledFresh, not ripened
CabocScotland, HighlandsDouble cream from local cow milk, pasteurisedup to 6 months
CașRomaniaSheep milk, sometimes cow milkFresh; soured up to two weeks when it is to become brânză de burduf
ClaquebitouFrance, Burgundy
CrowdieScotland, HighlandsCow milk, pasteurised todayFresh; shelf life about 14 days
CuajadaSpainMilk; skim UHT milk in one Spanish studyFresh; not ripened
Demi-sel (fresh salted cheese)FranceCow milk
Formaggio ZigherItaly, Veneto7 daysNone; a mould bloom when mature
Queso llaneroVenezuela, the llanosThe feature does not give the milk for queso llanero; it says most Venezuelan cheeses are now made from cow milk, and many are made from raw milk
RequeixoSpain, Galicia24 h – 2 days
RygeostDenmark, especially Funen24 h
SnøfriskNorway80% goat milk and 20% cow cream
Zhazhik (Armenia)ArmeniaMatsun whey or buttermilk

Bold names have a full page with the animated steps. Blank cells: no sourced value yet.

Short entries

What the sources record about each of these so far.

ByaslagMongolia

Also called бяслаг, byasulag, biaslag.

Byaslag is a mild, unripened Mongolian cheese. Yak or cow milk is heated over a gentle fire and curdled by stirring in whey or yoghurt (tarag), so the curd is set mainly by acid and heat; it is then wrapped in cloth and pressed between boards until the whey is out. Lactic bacteria have been isolated from byaslag.

Milk
Yak or cow milk, raw or boiled
Ripening
Fresh, not ripened
  1. Heat the milk gently
  2. Curdle with whey or yoghurt
  3. Wrap and press between boards

Safety: One source says byaslag is made from raw or cooked milk, and the cheese is fresh and unripened. CDC advises pregnant women, adults over 65 and people with weak immunity to avoid cheese made from raw milk.

CabocScotland, Highlands

A rich Highland cheese made from double cream soured by lactic cultures, with no rennet. The soured cream is salted, pressed to drive out moisture, shaped into small logs and rolled in toasted pinhead oatmeal. The maker says it can be aged for up to six months.

Milk
Double cream from local cow milk, pasteurised
Composition
58.5 g fat per 100 g; 0.5 g salt per 100 g (maker's label)
  1. Pasteurise and add cultures
  2. Sour to a firm set
  3. Salt and press out moisture
  4. Shape into logs and roll in oatmeal
  5. Age (optional)up to 6 months

Safety: Made from pasteurised milk and cream.

CașRomania

Also called caș, caş.

Caș is the fresh rennet curd made by setting sheep milk (or cow milk) with lamb or calf rennet and draining it in a cloth under a weight. It is the starting point for other Romanian cheeses; for brânză de burduf it is left unsalted in a fir tub for up to two weeks to sour before it is ground with salt.

Milk
Sheep milk, sometimes cow milk
Ripening
Fresh; soured up to two weeks when it is to become brânză de burduf
  1. Set the milk with rennet1 h · 32–35 °C
  2. Drain under a weight and break up
  3. Sour the caș (for brânză de burduf)up to 14 days

Safety: Caș is a fresh curd. The sources describe only warming the sheep milk to about 32–35 °C, with no pasteurising step, and for brânză de burduf the curd then sits unsalted for up to two weeks. ANSES, the French food safety agency, names Listeria, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli as the main hazards of raw-milk cheeses. It advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children not to eat raw-milk cheeses, except cooked pressed ones such as Comté.

ClaquebitouFrance, Burgundy

Also called quiaque-bitou (Burgundian).

A Burgundian fresh goat cheese. Goat milk is set by lactic souring, and the curd is only half drained, so it stays soft and wet in its whey. It is mixed with garlic and herbs such as parsley and chives and eaten fresh.

Fat
45% fat, as quoted from a farm dairy guide
  1. Lactic set
  2. Half-drain
  3. Mix with garlic and herbs
CrowdieScotland, Highlands

Also called crowdie, Gruth Dhu (crowdie with cream, oatmeal and pepper).

Crowdie is a soft, crumbly fresh cheese from the Scottish Highlands. Cow milk was left to sour naturally, often with a little rennet, and the warmed curd was hung in muslin to drip, then salted. The crowdies in the 2018 Food Standards Scotland list are all marked pasteurised.

Milk
Cow milk, pasteurised today
Ripening
Fresh; shelf life about 14 days
  1. Sour the milk
  2. Warm the curd and hang it in muslin
  3. Salt, and sometimes add cream
  4. Eat fresh

Safety: Slow Food UK says raw-milk crowdie is not allowed in Scotland, because the cheese is moist and keeps only about 14 days, which leaves it open to pathogens. Food Standards Scotland's 2018 review of artisan cheeses says Scotland bans raw drinking milk but places no restriction on selling raw-milk cheese made to the hygiene rules. Every crowdie in the review's table of Scottish cheeses is marked pasteurised.

CuajadaSpain

Also called cuajada, queso cuajada, curdled milk (Spain), Colombian cuajada.

Cuajada is a boundary entry with little or no fermentation. In Spain it is curdled milk, a soft, semisolid dairy product; in Colombia it is a fresh, non-acid curd cheese. Neither is soured by bacteria, so both must be kept cold and eaten fresh.

Milk
Milk; skim UHT milk in one Spanish study
Ripening
Fresh; not ripened
  1. Set the milk into curd
  2. Keep cold and eat fresh

Safety: Cuajada is not acidified, so Listeria can grow in it. In a survey of fresh cheeses in Quindío, Colombia, Listeria monocytogenes was found in 55 of 103 cuajada samples. In a Spanish lab challenge test on cuajada made from UHT skim milk, Listeria added at about 4 log cfu/mL reached 8.3 log in 3 days at 10 °C, a temperature-abuse condition, in control samples without biopreservatives. Keep it cold and eat it fresh.

Demi-sel (fresh salted cheese)France

Also called Demi-sel, fromage demi-sel, demi-sel cheese.

Demi-sel is a French fresh cow cheese, an unripened curd that is lightly salted and sold in small squares of about 100 g with about 40 % fat. French law reserves the name and defines it in an annex to the 2007 cheese decree. The decree's fromage blanc article says a fermented fromage blanc must have undergone mainly lactic fermentation, and that one sold as fresh must hold live flora when sold; that article names demi-sel only as an exception to its dry-matter allowance.

Milk
Cow milk
Legal status
Named in the decree's fromage blanc article; unlike other fromages blancs it may not use the lower dry-matter minimum that French law allows for fromage blanc, because the annex defines it separately
Fat
About 40 % (French Wikipedia)
Size
About 100 g, square (French Wikipedia)

Made like Fresh lactic (acid-set) cheese family.

Formaggio ZigherItaly, Veneto

Raw whole cow or goat milk is soured, and the soured milk is separated in a cloth into curd and whey. The curd is kneaded several times with chives or other herbs, salt and ground pepper, shaped into small cones of about 150 g and dried in the open air. It is sold at once, after about a week for the table, or kept longer in a cellar for grating.

Size
Small cone, about 150 g
Rind
None; a mould bloom when mature
  1. Let the milk sour
  2. Separate in a cloth
  3. Knead with herbs, salt and pepper
  4. Shape and air-dry
  5. Sell or ripen7 days

Safety: The milk is raw and soured, and the sheets describe no heat treatment and give no pH or salt level. The CDC advises people who are pregnant, aged 65 or over or immunocompromised to avoid unheated fresh soft cheeses and any cheese made with raw milk, because of Listeria (CDC).

Queso llaneroVenezuela, the llanos

A hard, salty cheese of the Venezuelan plains, slightly acid and earthy, good for grating. It is a separate cheese from queso guayanés and from the long-salted, thick-rinded queso de año.

Milk
The feature does not give the milk for queso llanero; it says most Venezuelan cheeses are now made from cow milk, and many are made from raw milk
Character
Hard, slightly acid and earthy, salty, good for grating

Made like Fresh lactic (acid-set) cheese family.

RequeixoSpain, Galicia

Also called leite trallado, leite tomado, leite mazado, leite callado.

Requeixo is a fresh, unsalted Galician curd of whole raw cow milk, soured by the milk's own bacteria and yeasts at room temperature for one to two days. The curd hangs in cloth sacks for some hours, and the draining time decides whether it ends up spoonable like yogurt or firm like fresh cheese. Some makers use rennet instead; no specification or study we found gives its numbers.

  1. Pour the raw milk
  2. Sour at room temperature24 h – 2 days · 20–22 °C
  3. Skim the cream (home method)
  4. Hang in cloth sacks
  5. Beat back the cream (home method)

Safety: Requeixo is made from raw milk, not boiled, soured at 20–22 °C for 24 to 48 hours and eaten fresh with no ripening (Slow Food). The US CDC says raw milk can carry germs such as Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, Brucella and Salmonella. The US CDC says people at higher risk of Listeria infection, including pregnant women, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity, should avoid cheese made from raw milk unless it is heated to 165 °F (74 °C) or until steaming hot.

RygeostDenmark, especially Funen

Also called rygeost.

Rygeost is a soft fresh cheese from Funen that is smoked for a few seconds. In a published home recipe, heated and cooled whole milk is mixed with buttermilk and a little rennet and left for 24 hours, and the cut curd drains for 5–7 hours. It is then smoked for 20–30 seconds over straw or wood chips topped with stinging nettles.

  1. Heat the milk and cool it80 °C
  2. Add buttermilk and rennet
  3. Leave to set24 h
  4. Cut and drain5–7 h
  5. Smoke briefly

Safety: No safety source specific to rygeost was found.

SnøfriskNorway

Also called Snøfrisk, Snofrisk, Snow fresh.

A fresh, white, spreadable cheese made by TINE from 80% goat milk and 20% cow cream, first sold for the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics. It tastes fresh and tangy with a mild goat character.

Milk
80% goat milk and 20% cow cream
Launched
1994, for the Lillehammer Winter Olympics
  1. Combine goat milk and cow cream
  2. Make the fresh cheese
  3. Pack
Zhazhik (Armenia)Armenia

Zhazhik is an Armenian home-made cottage cheese made from the whey of matsun (set sour milk) or from buttermilk. A travel guide lists it among the ways Armenian households reuse dairy by-products.

Milk
Matsun whey or buttermilk

Made like Fresh lactic (acid-set) cheese family.

Numbers come from cited sources and carry a label that says how each is known. How this atlas is made