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Cheese from Lithuania, Telšiai City civil parish

Džiugas

Standardised cow milk from the grazing season is pasteurised at no less than 72.5 °C, inoculated at 32–34 °C with a whey-grown starter of Lactobacillus and thermophilic Streptococcus plus a frozen Streptococcus thermophilus culture, and set with a microbial enzyme. The curd is cut to 0.7–1.0 cm, cooked from 33 °C to 50 °C, moulded, pressed and brined up to 8 days. After up to 30 days drying at 10–12 °C the wheels are vacuum-packed and matured 12 to 120 months at no more than 10 °C.

Fully documentedCheese13 months – 10 yearsPGI (EU), application PGI-LT-02372 of 6.11.2017, published OJ C 28, 23.1.2019, registered OJ L 157, 14.6.2019; standard amendment PGI-LT-02372-AM01 published OJ C 53, 13.2.2023Family: Parmigiano Reggiano

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe specification sets doses as shares of the milk mixture. One 4 kg wheel needs about 60 litres of grazing-season milk; wheels weigh 4.2–4.5 kg.
Cow milk from the grazing period (May to October), from cows given no supplementary feed then[dz-2023]
Liquid lactic starter grown in pasteurised whey (Lactobacillus and thermophilic Streptococcus)up to 2.0% of the milk mixture[dz-2023]
Frozen Streptococcus thermophilus starter[dz-2023]
Milk-coagulating enzyme of microbial originThe 2019 text named a Rhizomucor miehei protease; the 2023 amendment says only "enzyme"[dz-2019][dz-2023]
Common salt, as brine of 18–22%[dz-2023]
Starterwhey-grown starter of Lactobacillus and thermophilic Streptococcus, plus frozen Streptococcus thermophilus

Total time across the recorded steps: 13 months – 10 years

Start
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at least 72.5 °C

What changes: The standardised milk is heated to at least 72.5 °C for 20 seconds

Step 1 of 9
Pasteurise the milk
Time
0.4 min
Set
Temperature
at least 72.5 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus
Streptococcus
S. thermophilus

The milk is separated, clarified and standardised for fat; it may then be held at no more than 10 °C for no more than 18 hours.

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

Standardised cow milk from the grazing season is pasteurised at no less than 72.5 °C, inoculated at 32–34 °C with a whey-grown starter of Lactobacillus and thermophilic Streptococcus plus a frozen Streptococcus thermophilus culture, and set with a microbial enzyme. The curd is cut to 0.7–1.0 cm, cooked from 33 °C to 50 °C, moulded, pressed and brined up to 8 days. After up to 30 days drying at 10–12 °C the wheels are vacuum-packed and matured 12 to 120 months at no more than 10 °C. Made in 9 steps over 13 months – 10 years. The longest step, vacuum-pack and mature, takes 12 months – 10 years (European Commission 2023) and runs at up to 10 °C (European Commission 2023). Salt is 18–22 % (European Commission 2023). Lactobacillus (rod-shaped lactic acid bacteria) and thermophilic Streptococcus, kept at a set ratio in the whey starter and Streptococcus thermophilus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step12 months – 10 yearsSet[dz-2023]Vacuum-pack and mature
Temperatureup to 10 °CSet[dz-2023]Vacuum-pack and mature
Salt18–22 %Set[dz-2023]Brine
AciditypH 4.5–5.4Set[dz-2023]Brine

What makes this one different

A cooked, long-matured hard cheese, made from pasteurised milk set with a microbial enzyme, with a whey-grown starter of set Lactobacillus to Streptococcus ratio. Wheels are small, about 4 kg, and mature vacuum-packed rather than with an open rind.

Grades
Sold at 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 60, 100 and 120 months of maturing (minimums)
Size
Flat cylinder 9.0–10.0 cm high, 22.0–24.0 cm across
Composition
Fat in dry matter 40 ± 3%, moisture 34 ± 3%, salt 2.0 ± 0.4%

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is pasteurised at no less than 72.5 °C for 20 seconds and held at no more than 10 °C before cheesemaking; the specification calls this temperature a food-safety parameter.

History and sources

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

Experimental production of the hard cheese behind Džiugas began in a new Telšiai plant in 1985, and output grew from 1994 and markedly from 2006. The name comes from Džiugo kalnas, a hill fort named after a legendary Samogitian warlord.

  1. [dz-2019] European Commission 2019, Commission Implementing Decision of 16 January 2019 on the publication of the application for registration of 'Džiugas' (PGI), single document PGI-LT-02372, OJ C 28, 23.1.2019, p. 3 (EU Publications Office copy)spec
  2. [dz-2023] European Commission 2023, publication of an approved standard amendment to the product specification of 'Džiugas' (PGI), PGI-LT-02372-AM01, OJ C 53, 13.2.2023, p. 11 (EU Publications Office copy)spec
  3. [uk-spec] GOV.UK, protected food name 'Džiugas' (PGI), register entry (specification not posted there)gov