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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, the whole Aosta Valley

Fontina PDOFontina

Whole milk of Valdostana cows, raw or lightly thermised, is set in copper or steel vats with calf rennet and lactic cultures selected in the valley. The curd grains are semi-cooked, gathered in cloth, pressed in hoops with concave sides and briefly brined. The wheels ripen at least 80 days in cool, damp stores or caves, salted and brushed with brine, which builds a thin brown washed rind. Made in 8 steps over 2.7 months. The longest step, ripen, salting and brushing with brine, takes at least 2.6 months (Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta 2023) and runs at 4–12 °C (Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta 2023). Native lactic starter cultures from the consortium; the starter outgrew the raw-milk flora throughout making and ripening and Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Streptococcus thermophilus, on the rind from day 1 do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2.6 monthsSet[vda-disc2023]Ripen, salting and brushing with brine
Temperature4–12 °CSet[vda-disc2023]Ripen, salting and brushing with brine
AciditypH 5.4Measured[bellio2018]Gather in cloth and press in concave hoops

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. Each wheel is 30–45 cm across and weighs 7.5–12 kg.
Whole cow milk · From Valdostana cows (Pezzata rossa, Pezzata nera, Castana and their crosses) fed without silage; from one or more consecutive milkings[vda-disc2023]
Native lactic cultures · Selected in the production area, kept by the producers' consortium and given to every Fontina maker[vda-disc2023]
Calf rennet[vda-disc2023][eamb-fontina]
Salt · A brine bath of at most 12 h, then dry salt and brine rubbing during ripening[vda-disc2023]
Starter: native lactic cultures selected in the Aosta Valley and supplied by the consortium

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.7 months

Start
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2–6 °C

What changes: Starting material: whole milk from Valdostana cows

Step 1 of 8
Collect whole milk from Valdostana cows
Time
up to 40 h
Set
Temperature
2–6 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
S. thermophilus
Yeasts
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

Fontina is a semi-cooked Alpine cheese with a washed rind, ripened in damp caves where yeasts and coryneform bacteria grow on the surface. Its cultures are selected in the valley and shared by the consortium, and only milk of the native Valdostana cows may be used. Since the 2024–2026 changes, milk from several milkings and light thermising are allowed.

Milk
Whole raw or thermised milk of Valdostana cows, from one or more consecutive milkings, processed within 40 h of the first milking
Salting
Brine for up to 12 h within 24 h of pressing, then dry salt and brine rubbing in the store
Ripening
At least 80 days at 4–12 °C and RH 90% or more; at least 180 days for "lunga stagionatura"
Size
30–45 cm across, 7–10 cm high, 7.5–12 kg

Related ferments

Variants

  • Fontina AlpeggioMade only from milk drawn on the summer alpine pastures; green casein plate
  • Fontina lunga stagionaturaRipened at least 180 days

Safety

Fontina may be made from raw or thermised milk. In a challenge test, E. coli O157:H7 grew during making but fell by 3 log over 80 days of ripening at 10 °C. The specification allows high-pressure processing before sale and bans freezing; marked wheels are kept at 2 °C or above.

Hazards the sources name: Escherichia coli O157:H7 in a challenge test, which grew 2.0 log in the first 9.5 h and fell by 3 log during 80 days of ripening.

History and sources

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

References to the name Fontina for a cow-milk cheese of the Aosta valleys go back to the 18th century, according to the EU application. A 1957 ministerial decree gave the producers' consortium its supervisory role, and the cheese was registered as an EU PDO in 1996. The specification was rewritten from 2023, allowing pooled milkings, thermising and high-pressure processing.

  1. [vda-disc2023] Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta, Disciplinare di produzione «Fontina» DOP (version of September 2023)spec
  2. [eamb-fontina] Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle Foreste, Application for registration of the PDO Fontina under Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, summary sheet, eAmbrosia attachment 72942archive
  3. [bellio2018] Bellio A. et al. 2018, Behavior of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during the manufacture and ripening of Fontina Protected Designation of Origin cheese, Journal of Dairy Science 101:4962–4970, doi:10.3168/jds.2017-13458 (abstract)paper
  4. [dolci2009] Dolci P. et al. 2009, Maturing dynamics of surface microflora in Fontina PDO cheese studied by culture-dependent and -independent methods, Journal of Applied Microbiology 106:278–287, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2672.2008.04001.x (abstract)paper
  5. [dolci2014] Dolci P. et al. 2014, rRNA-based monitoring of the microbiota involved in Fontina PDO cheese production in relation to different stages of cow lactation, International Journal of Food Microbiology 185:127–135, doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2014.05.021 (abstract)paper