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Fermented milk from Italy, Lombardia

Zincarlin de VaréesZancarlin

Zincarlin de Varées is a spreadable paste made by re-fermenting raw-milk goat cheeses, mostly soft lactic-set ones, with black pepper and sometimes dried garlic or parsley. The mix ripens for 20–60 days at 12–16 °C in open earthenware jars and is stirred often until it turns to a thick cream.

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe sheets give no amounts; cheese is 100% of the dairy raw material.
Soft lactic-set raw-milk goat cheesesThe bulk of the mix; no liquid is added, so soft cheeses must far outweigh hard ones[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Rennet-set goat cheeses, soft or hardOptional; hard ones are grated after the rind is removed[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Ground black pepper[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Dried garlic and/or parsleyOptional[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 20 days – 2 months

Start
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What changes: Soft goat cheeses are broken up and hard ones grated, rind removed

Step 1 of 4
Break and grate the cheeses
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus

Output: broken soft cheese and grated hard cheese.

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

Zincarlin de Varées is a spreadable paste made by re-fermenting raw-milk goat cheeses, mostly soft lactic-set ones, with black pepper and sometimes dried garlic or parsley. The mix ripens for 20–60 days at 12–16 °C in open earthenware jars and is stirred often until it turns to a thick cream. Made in 4 steps over 20 days – 2 months. The longest step, ferment in open jars, stirring often, takes 20 days – 2 months (Regione Lombardia) and runs at 12–16 °C (Regione Lombardia). In the related ricotta forte, a naturally fermented ricotta cheese (not studied in zincarlin itself): 33 Lactobacillus strains of 10 species does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step20 days – 2 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ferment in open jars, stirring often
Temperature12–16 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Ferment in open jars, stirring often

What makes this one different

The Varese member of the Insubrian Zincarlin family is made only from goat cheeses and has no shape of its own; the Como and Ossola zincarlin start from ricotta instead.

Fat in dry matter
62%
Protein
13%
Rind
None; sold in plastic tubs or glass jars

Related ferments

Variants

  • Como zincarlinMade from fat ricotta (maschèrpa) instead of goat cheeses.
  • Ticino zincarlinA drained lactic cow curd shaped like an upturned cup and sponged daily with white wine.

Safety

The sheets give the finished paste a pH of 5.2 and a moisture of 56%. The jar mouth is covered with gauze to keep insects out, and any liquid the paste gives off is removed. The ONAF sheet says sealed packs stay at room temperature and go in the refrigerator once opened, but no source gives a salt figure, water activity or heat step that would make a sealed pack safe at room temperature, so this page does not pass that on as an instruction. At pH 5.2 the acid does not stop botulism. The FDA's pathogen table puts the growth limit for proteolytic Clostridium botulinum at pH 4.6, the bacterium grows well with little oxygen (FDA), and the CDC lists canned cheese sauce among newer sources. Keep homemade zincarlin refrigerated, never sealed at room temperature. It is also made from raw-milk cheeses, and the CDC says raw-milk products can expose people to germs such as Listeria, Brucella and E. coli.

History and sources

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

The PAT sheet describes zincarlin de Varées as a product from a time when a protein store had to be kept for winter, by recovering cheeses that had become too hard or too soft. Varese had no true alpine pastures, so cheesemaking stayed a family, subsistence affair even in summer; the small amounts of ricotta were eaten at home, while goat cheeses and mixed cheeses were more available, which the sheet gives as the reason for this product. The sheet notes that no zincarlin made from ricotta has been found in Varese.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Lombardia, traditional agri-food product (PAT) sheet 'Zincarlin de Vares' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF, technical sheet 'Zincarlin de Varées' (PAT Lombardia)web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Zincarlin de Varées' (id 1041)web
  4. [baruzzi2000] Baruzzi F., Morea M., Matarante A., Cocconcelli P.S. 2000, Changes in the Lactobacillus community during Ricotta forte cheese natural fermentation, Journal of Applied Microbiology 89(5):807–814 (abstract, read through Europe PMC)paper
  5. [fda-app4] US FDA 2011, Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance, 4th ed., Appendix 4, Bacterial pathogen growth and inactivation, Table A-1gov
  6. [fda-bbb] US Food and Drug Administration 2012, Bad Bug Book, 2nd edition, Clostridium botulinumgov
  7. [cdc-botulism] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Botulism Preventiongov
  8. [cdc-raw-milk] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Raw Milk (food safety page)gov