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Cheese from Italy, Lombardia

Valtellina ScimudinScimudin

Raw cow milk with no added starter is set with calf rennet at 36–40 °C and cut to hazelnut or walnut grains. The curd is put in perforated moulds and kept warm for 3–24 hours, salted, then ripened 10–30 days, when a thin white-grey mould covers the dry rind.

Fully documentedCheese10 days – 31 daysTraditional food product (PAT, Lombardia)Family: Bloomy-rind soft cheese family (Camembert de Normandie as template)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedCooperative or farm make with no fixed amounts; the sheets give no doses. A cheese weighs 1–2.5 kg.
Raw whole cow milk from one or more milkingsLocal herds only; no starter is added[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Calf rennet, liquid or powder[onaf-sheet]
SaltDry on the surface, in brine, or straight into the milk before setting[onaf-sheet]
Starternone; the raw milk's own lactic flora

Total time across the recorded steps: 10 days – 31 days

Start
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36–40 °C

What changes: Raw milk is warmed to 36–40 °C and calf rennet sets it in about 20 minutes

Step 1 of 5
Warm the milk and add calf rennet
Time
20–25 min
Reported
Temperature
36–40 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Salt can go into the milk at this point instead of later.

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 with no added starter is set with calf rennet at 36–40 °C and cut to hazelnut or walnut grains. The curd is put in perforated moulds and kept warm for 3–24 hours, salted, then ripened 10–30 days, when a thin white-grey mould covers the dry rind. Made in 5 steps over 10 days – 31 days. The longest step, ripen until the rind blooms, takes 10–30 days (Regione Lombardia) and runs at 6–15 °C (Regione Lombardia).

Key numbers
Main step10–30 daysReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen until the rind blooms
Temperature6–15 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ripen until the rind blooms

What makes this one different

Valtellina's other cheeses are long-aged, but Scimudin ripens only 3–4 weeks under a thin white mould, a sign that it began as a home cheese. It was probably once made from goat milk.

Rind
Thin, dry, edible, covered with white-grey mould
Size
16–22 cm across, up to 8 cm high; 1–2.5 kg
Season
Made all year by the valley-floor dairies; once a summer home cheese

Related ferments

Variants

  • Goat or mixed-milk formaggelleSome side valleys still make them from goat or mixed milk.

Safety

Made from raw milk with no starter. To savour it at its best, the regional sheet says to keep it at no more than 15 °C and eat it within 45 days of packing; it gives this as a quality point, not a safety limit. It ripens only 10–30 days, well under the 60 days the FDA studied. The US FDA says ageing raw-milk cheese for 60 days may not eliminate or adequately reduce E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, and Listeria may grow in some cheeses during ageing. The CDC says people at higher risk, including pregnant women, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity, should avoid raw-milk cheese 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

The name means little scimud, local dialect for cheese. It was once offered to guests, especially after funerals, and is still melted into polenta in the pot.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Lombardia, prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, sheet 'Valtellina Scimudin' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (national organisation of cheese tasters), technical sheet 'Valtellina Scimudin'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Valtellina Scimudin' (id 1040)web
  4. [fda-rawcheese2016] US Food and Drug Administration 2016, FY 2014–2016 Microbiological Sampling Assignment Summary Report, Raw Milk Cheese Aged 60 Daysgov
  5. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov