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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Romania, northern half of Botoșani County

Cașcaval de Săveni PGICașcaval de Săveni

Raw cow milk is warmed to 30–33 °C and set with rennet, and the coagulum is cut with a harp. The curd is scalded in hot brine at about 80 °C, kneaded by hand with a wooden spatula and pressed into moulds with the air worked out. The blocks or wheels then mature at least 60 days at 2–8 °C and are waxed or film-wrapped. Made in 7 steps over 2 months. The longest step, mature in the cold, takes at least 2 months (European Commission 2020) and runs at 2–8 °C (European Commission 2020). Salt is 1.5–3 % (European Commission 2020). Local lactic flora of the raw milk does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsSet[saveni-oj2020]Mature in the cold
Temperature2–8 °CSet[saveni-oj2020]Mature in the cold
Salt1.5–3 %Set[saveni-oj2020]Mature in the cold

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe single document gives milk limits, temperatures and the ripening time but no amounts. Wheels and blocks weigh 0.45–9 kg.
Raw cow milk · At least 3.2 % fat, acidity 15–19 °Th, density at least 1.026 g/cm³[saveni-oj2020]
Rennet[saveni-oj2020]
Salt · From the hot brine the curd is scalded in; 1.5–3 % in the finished cheese[saveni-oj2020]
Wax mixture or heat-shrink film · To coat the finished cheese[saveni-oj2020]
Starter: none named; the specification says warming raw milk to 30–33 °C lets the local milk flora work

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months

Start
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What changes: Starting material: raw cow milk, checked for fat and acidity

Step 1 of 7
Check the raw milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: raw cow milk from the delimited area.

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

Cașcaval de Săveni is made from raw cow milk, and its key steps (cutting with a harp, scalding the curd, kneading and moulding) are done by hand. The specification sets it apart from similar cheeses by its long, cold maturing of at least 60 days at 2–8 °C.

Milk
Raw cow milk from the delimited area of Botoșani County
Ripening
At least 60 days at 2–8 °C
Composition
Moisture at most 44 %; fat at least 23 % (at least 38 % of dry matter); salt 1.5–3 %
Size
Wheels or rectangular blocks of 0.45–9 kg

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk and matured at least 60 days at 2–8 °C. The finished cheese holds at most 44 % moisture and 1.5–3 % salt.

History and sources

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

Botoșani has had livestock markets since the 16th century. The Săveni milk plant was built in 1959, and in 1963 master cheesemaker Nicolae Caranica was brought in. He taught local workers to combine cașcaval methods with local ones, and the plant's hand-made cașcaval became known in Romania and abroad.

  1. [saveni-oj2020] European Commission 2020, Single document 'Caşcaval de Săveni', PGI-RO-02361, Official Journal of the European Union C 15, 16.1.2020, p. 5; registered by Implementing Regulation in OJ L 137, 22.4.2021spec
  2. [andronoiu2015] Andronoiu D.G., Botez E., Nistor O.V., Mocanu G.D. 2015, Ripening process of Cascaval cheese - compositional and textural aspects, Journal of Food Science and Technology 52(8):5278–5284 (abstract)paper
  3. [eambrosia] European Commission, eAmbrosia register of geographical indications (no Dobrogea cașcaval is registered; Romanian cheese entries checked 2026-10)gov