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Fermented milk from Italy, Lombardia

FiurìFiurit

Fiurì is the "flower" of ricotta from the Bergamo and Brescia valleys. Whey from cheesemaking is heated to 85–90 °C with citric acid, and the first creamy flakes that float up before the ricotta forms are skimmed off and whisked smooth. It is a boundary entry, set by heat and acid rather than by fermentation.

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe regional sheet gives temperatures, not amounts.
Cow wheyLeft from making the valley cheeses[pat-sheet]
Citric acidAdded to the hot whey; on the alpine pasture (malga) it can be made with no acidifier at all[pat-sheet]
Latì (buttermilk from the churn)Optional; makes it sweeter[onaf-sheet]
Starternone; set by heat and citric acid, not fermented
Start
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85–90 °C

What changes: Hot whey with citric acid throws up the first soft flakes at 85–90 °C

Step 1 of 4
Heat the whey with citric acid
Time
Not documented
Temperature
85–90 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: whey with the first floating flakes.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

heat, not microbes, does the work

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

Fiurì is the "flower" of ricotta from the Bergamo and Brescia valleys. Whey from cheesemaking is heated to 85–90 °C with citric acid, and the first creamy flakes that float up before the ricotta forms are skimmed off and whisked smooth. It is a boundary entry, set by heat and acid rather than by fermentation.

Key numbers
Temperature85–90 °CReported[pat-sheet]Heat the whey with citric acid

What makes this one different

Fiurì is skimmed from the whey before the ricotta forms, so it is softer and creamier than ricotta and is sold as a spoonable cream. It is kin to the Friulian flors and the Poschiavo flurit.

Rind
None; semi-liquid dense cream

Related ferments

Variants

  • Malga fiuritOn the alpine pasture, made with no acidifier by lifting the cream that rises in the kettle before the ricotta.
  • Soured fiurìSome sour it with vinegar or agra (acid whey) for use like sour cream.

Safety

It spoils fast, so it is chilled at once and eaten very fresh.

History and sources

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

Originally made for the makers' own use, usually in summer on the alpine pastures, because it spoils fast. Some valley dairies, such as the Caseificio Sociale Valsabbino, now make it all year.

Process times
The sources we found give no figure for how long any of its steps take.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Lombardia, Schede prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, allegato B al DDUO n. 3392 del 7/4/08, "Fiurí o Fiurit" (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF, technical sheet "Fiurì o Fiurit"web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio "Fiurì o Fiurit" (id 986)web
  4. [bnp] Brescia nel Piatto, 'Fiurì o Fiurit' (Brescia formaggi pages)web