Characteristics and Development of Matured Hard Cheese from the Dolomites Mountain Region in Northern Italy

Hirata Masahiro, Kimura Junko, Barattin Tanja

doi:10.11465/milk.67.1

<p>　Long-matured hard cheese called mountain cheese is processed in the cold Alps, and it has been made at least before 2,000 BC. It is extremely important to analyze the relationship between fresh cheese and matured hard cheese to recreate the history of cheese processing in Europe. From case studies in the Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy, this paper aimed to examine how fresh cheese developed into long-matured hard cheese from a dairy science and anthropogeography standpoint. Fresh cheese is processed by rennet addition, cutting, draining and salting. The fresh cheese was then matured in brine for several weeks to improve the taste. When the matured fresh cheese was taken out of the brine and air–dried, it became the matured hard cheeses such as Dolomiti cheese processed in the Dolomite Mountains. Leaving it out in air dries out the surface, forming a rind to protect the cheese on the inside. In the mountain regions, the processing of matured hard cheese developed further to make long aging process possible. Skim milk was used for more favorable maturation. The curds were heated to 42℃ to remove more whey. These steps allowed the cheese to be preserved for about a year. This gave rise to long-matured hard cheese such as the mountain cheese processed in the Dolomite Mountains. The cold and semi-humid climate appears to be the biggest factor that channeled such development, and this change in cheese development could only have taken place in such environments as European mountains.</p>

Characteristics and Development of Matured Hard Cheese from the Dolomites Mountain Region in Northern Italy

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