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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Valle d'Aosta

Formaggio di capra a pasta molle (Valle d'Aosta)Formaggio di capra a pasta molle

Whole raw goat milk is set with rennet at about 36–37 °C, cut to the size of corn kernels, drained briefly and put into hoops without pressing. The small round cheeses are salted and ripen for about 20–25 days in cool, damp cellars, sometimes in stone-vaulted "crotte". Made in 7 steps over 20 days – 25 days. The longest step, ripen in a cool cellar, takes 20–25 days (Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta 1998) and runs at 12–15 °C (Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta 1998). The raw milk's own lactic acid bacteria does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step20–25 daysSet[vda-capra]Ripen in a cool cellar
Temperature12–15 °CSet[vda-capra]Ripen in a cool cellar

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe regional sheet says the method was never fixed and is passed on by word of mouth, so it gives no batch. A normal cheese is 10–15 cm across, 5 cm high and about 0.5 kg.
Whole raw goat milk · From Valdostana, Chamois-coloured and Saanen goats raised in the region[vda-capra][onaf-capra]
Rennet · Calf powder rennet, rarely kid rennet[onaf-capra]
Salt · Dry salt, or brine[vda-capra]
Starter: none listed; rennet only

Total time across the recorded steps: 20 days – 25 days

Start
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What changes: Starting material: whole raw milk from Aosta goats

Step 1 of 7
Collect the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Whole, raw goat milk; ONAF notes that the best cheese comes in summer, when the goats eat only fresh forage. Output: whole raw goat milk.

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

In a region known for cow cheeses such as Fontina, this is the soft cheese of the goat herds. Unlike Aosta's pressed goat and ewe cheese, its curd is cut larger, never cooked and not pressed, and it is eaten after about three weeks.

Milk
Whole raw goat milk
Ripening
About 20–25 days at 12–15 °C and 80–85% humidity
Size
Usually 10–15 cm across, 5 cm high, about 0.5 kg; also small shapes of about 0.1 kg

Related ferments

Variants

  • Small fresh shapesBlocks or small pyramids of about 0.1 kg, kept at 2–4 °C and eaten within days; sometimes coated with vegetable charcoal, spices or chestnut leaves (ONAF).
  • ... alpeggioMade on the summer pastures; the word "alpeggio" follows the name.

Safety

Soft cheese of raw goat milk with a short ripening. ANSES advises pregnant women, people over 65, people with weak immunity and young children to avoid raw-milk cheeses.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, the main hazards ANSES names for raw-milk cheeses.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet admits there are no documents for the region's goat and ewe cheeses, but says they are old and tied to the herds themselves. ONAF adds that it was once made only in summer.

  1. [vda-capra] Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta, Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, Scheda identificativa 1.10, Formaggio di capra a pasta molle (D.Lgs. 173/1998 art. 8)gov
  2. [onaf-capra] ONAF, Formaggio di capra a pasta molle, technical sheet (PAT Valle d'Aosta)web
  3. [montel2014] Montel M.C. et al. 2014, Traditional cheeses - rich and diverse microbiota with associated benefits, International Journal of Food Microbiology 177:136-154 (abstract)paper
  4. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov