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Fermented milk from Italy, Lombardia

ZincarlinCingherlino

Zincarlin is a salted, peppered ricotta from the province of Como. Raw whole cow whey, sometimes with goat or cow milk, is heated to 90 °C and set with a fruit-soured acid whey; the ricotta is drained in cloths, kneaded with salt, shaped into balls, rolled in black pepper and eaten fresh or ripened for up to a year.

Fully documentedFermented milk0 min – 12 monthsPATFamily: Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe PAT sheet gives the method, not amounts. Finished balls weigh from 250 g to more than 3 kg.
Raw whole cow wheyFrom full-fat cheesemaking[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Raw whole goat or cow milkAdded sometimes[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Acid whey (agra or maistra)Last year's acid whey with lemon leaves and slices and green plums[pat-sheet]
Salt[pat-sheet]
Ground black pepperCoats the outside[pat-sheet]
StarterThe ricotta is set by heat and acid whey (agra or maistra) kept from the year before

Total time across the recorded steps: 0 min – 12 months

Start
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90 °C

What changes: Whole whey, sometimes with goat or cow milk, is heated to 90 °C

Step 1 of 5
Heat the whey
Time
Not documented
Temperature
90 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds

Output: hot whey.

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 is a salted, peppered ricotta from the province of Como. Raw whole cow whey, sometimes with goat or cow milk, is heated to 90 °C and set with a fruit-soured acid whey; the ricotta is drained in cloths, kneaded with salt, shaped into balls, rolled in black pepper and eaten fresh or ripened for up to a year. Made in 5 steps over 0 min – 12 months. The longest step, sell fresh or ripen, takes 0 min – 12 months (ONAF). In the related ricotta forte, a naturally fermented ricotta cheese (not studied in zincarlin itself): 33 Lactobacillus strains of 10 species, among them Lactobacillus kefiri, L. paracasei, L. plantarum and L. paraplantarum does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step0 min – 12 monthsReported[onaf-sheet]Sell fresh or ripen
Temperature90 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Heat the whey

What makes this one different

The Como zincarlin starts from ricotta (maschèrpa), unlike Zincarlin de Varées, which is made from goat cheeses, and Ticino zincarlin, made from a lactic cow curd washed with white wine.

Weight
0.250–3.0 kg balls
Rind
None when fresh; thin, sometimes with light moulds, when ripened

Related ferments

Variants

  • Fresh zincarlinEaten soon after making with oil and parsley.
  • Ripened zincarlinRipened up to a year, washed with white wine and salt, used in risotto.

Safety

The PAT sheet credits the 90 °C whey and the ripening for the cheese's safety. The whey and milk go in raw, the curd is salted and shaped after the heat step, and fresh zincarlin is eaten unripened. The CDC advises people who are pregnant, aged 65 or over or immunocompromised to avoid unheated fresh soft cheeses, because of Listeria (CDC).

History and sources

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

The PAT sheet calls zincarlin an old cheese from the pastures of Monte Generoso, on the border between the Val d'Intelvi and Switzerland, and from the valleys further north on the west shore of Lake Como. Ricotta was originally a waste of cheesemaking; the sheet credits the master cheesemakers of the Lario with the idea of flavouring and enriching it so that it could be sold for more in the lakeside trade. In the Como area and the Ossola, summer alpine pastures gave large amounts of whey, which called for ways of keeping the fat ricotta (maschèrpa) for later sale. In the past, ripened balls were kept over winter in cupboards called marne.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Lombardia, traditional agri-food product (PAT) sheet 'Zincarlin' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF, technical sheet 'Zincarlin' (PAT Lombardia)web
  3. [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
  4. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Zincarlin' (id 1042)web
  5. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infection (safer food choices)gov