Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from France, Corsica

Brocciu PDOBrocciu corse

Brocciu is a boundary entry, set by heat, not by microbes. Fresh whey left from making sheep or goat cheese is heated slowly over an open flame with salt and up to a quarter of its volume of raw whole milk, until the proteins float up as soft curds at 80–90 °C. It is eaten fresh, or salted and ripened at least 21 days as brocciu passu. Made in 6 steps over 22 days. The longest step, ripen (passu only), takes at least 21 days (Ministère de l'agriculture 2013). Salt is 0.5–1 % (Ministère de l'agriculture 2013).

Key numbers
Main stepat least 21 daysSet[cdc-broc2015]Ripen (passu only)
Temperature40–50 °CSet[cdc-broc2015]Warm, then add salt, milk and water
Salt0.5–1 %Set[cdc-broc2015]Warm, then add salt, milk and water
AciditypH at least 6.2Set[cdc-broc2015]Collect fresh whey

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification fixes the proportions to the whey. Each cheese weighs 250 g to 3 kg, set by four mould sizes.
Fresh sheep or goat whey · From rennet-set cheese of Corsican sheep or goats; used within 2 h; pH 6.20 or higher[cdc-broc2015]
Up to 25% of the whey volumeRaw whole sheep or goat milk · Used within 24 h of milking[cdc-broc2015]
0.5–1% of the starting liquid volumeSalt[cdc-broc2015]
15%Drinking water[cdc-broc2015]
Starternone; the curd is formed by heat and salt, not by a culture

Total time across the recorded steps: 22 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
pH at least 6.2

What changes: Starting material: sweet whey left from making sheep or goat cheese

Step 1 of 6
Collect fresh whey
Time
up to 2 h
Set
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH at least 6.2
Set

The whey must come from rennet-set curd made with milk under 40 h old.

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

What makes this one different

Most whey cheeses, such as Savoy sérac or Sardinian ricotta, are made from whey alone. Brocciu adds salt and raw whole milk during heating, which the specification gives as its defining difference, and it is heated only over an open flame.

Milk
Whey and raw whole milk of Corsican sheep and goats only; no frozen or powdered milk or whey
Boundary
A whey cheese set by heat at 80–90 °C, not by microbes
Ripening
Fresh, or passu after at least 21 days
Size
Truncated cone of 250 g to 3 kg; at least 40 g fat per 100 g dry matter

Related ferments

Variants

  • Brocciu fraisSold fresh, soft and tender; at least 20 g dry matter per 100 g
  • Brocciu passuDry-salted and ripened at least 21 days; at least 35 g dry matter per 100 g

Safety

Fresh brocciu is a moist, fresh product. The specification lets the packer set its shelf life, so follow the date and storage on the label.

History and sources

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

The specification cites Diodorus of Sicily on Corsicans living from milk, honey and meat, and a legend that Solomon gave shepherds the recipe. Writers of 1886 and 1898 called brocciu the national dish of Corsica, made by shepherds in rush baskets. A 1928 US bulletin described it as a Corsican sheep cheese sometimes mixed with sugar and rum. It became an appellation in June 1983, when it was still classed as a dairy product rather than a cheese.

  1. [cdc-broc2015] Ministère de l'agriculture, Cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine « Brocciu corse » ou « Brocciu », homologated by decree 2013-849 of 23 September 2013, consolidated with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/195 (BO-Agri notice)spec
  2. [eamb-broc] INAO, Demande d'enregistrement d'AOP Brocciu corse ou Brocciu under Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, summary sheet, eAmbrosia attachment 60494archive
  3. [doane1928] Doane C.F., Lawson H.W., revised by Matheson K.J. 1928, Varieties of cheese, descriptions and analyses, USDA Bulletin 608archive