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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Spain, Catalonia

Matómató

Mató is a boundary entry, a fresh curd set by heat and a coagulant, with no starter and no salt. Milk, now mostly cow but traditionally goat, is heated to pasteurise it, then set either with rennet at 34–45 °C or with calcium chloride at 78–82 °C, and drained by gravity. The soft, moist, unsalted curd keeps only days and is eaten as a dessert with honey. Made in 4 steps over 2 days – 11 days. The longest step, pack and keep cold, takes 2–10 days (Aboab M. 2018) and runs at 0–9 °C (Aboab M. 2018).

Key numbers
Main step2–10 daysReported[aboab2018]Pack and keep cold
Temperature0–9 °CReported[aboab2018]Pack and keep cold
Fully documentedCheese2 days – 11 daysnone; a PGI application was being prepared in 2018Family: Acid-heat set cheese family (FERMENTATION BOUNDARY)More acid-heat set cheesesMore from Spain

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedEach maker has its own method; there is no fixed recipe. Ranges follow a 2018 survey of Catalan makers.
Cow, goat or sheep milk · About 55% of makers use cow milk, 38% goat and 7% sheep[aboab2018]
Rennet (animal or vegetable) and/or calcium chloride · One sheep-milk maker still makes herbacol, a cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) rennet; acid such as lemon juice or vinegar was the old alternative[aboab2018]
No starter and no salt[aboab2018]
Honey, or sugar and walnuts (to taste) · To serve[aboab2018][diba-mato]
Starter: none

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 days – 11 days

Start
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72–90 °C

What changes: The milk is heated hot enough to pasteurise it

Step 1 of 4
Heat the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
72–90 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Heating draws whey proteins into the curd, which sets Mató apart from other fresh cheeses.

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

Unlike most fresh cheeses, Mató gets no starter and no salt, and its milk is heated hard first, so more whey protein stays in the curd. That leaves it moister and softer than ordinary fresh cheese and gives it only a few days of life.

Boundary
A fresh curd set by heat with rennet or calcium chloride; no starter, not fermented
Composition
Moisture 65.54–80.56%; cow-milk mató 6.58–11.82% fat, pH 5.6–6.5; goat-milk mató 16–19% fat, pH 6.3–6.5 (2018 survey)
Proposed PGI ranges
Firmness 0.86–1.72 N; water-holding capacity 68.91–77.61%; whey protein to casein ratio 30.1–37.25%

Related ferments

Variants

  • Mató de MontserratSold by farm women of Marganell at the Montserrat market since the late 19th century
  • Rennet matóSet at 34–45 °C; gel-like
  • Calcium chloride matóSet at 78–82 °C; grainy
  • Mató with herbacolSet with homemade cardoon rennet, as in the past; now rare

Safety

Mató is a moist fresh product with no salt and no acid from a starter. Makers keep it at 0–9 °C and give it a shelf life of 2–10 days, longer only after high-pressure treatment.

History and sources

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

The medieval Catalan cookbook Llibre de Sent Soví serves mató with honey, as does a 16th-century Christmas song, El Noi de la Mare. It was first made from goat milk, set with herbacol or acid, for city markets and for home. Records place mató de Montserrat at the Montserrat market from the late 19th century. In 2018 about 96 Catalan cheesemakers made it, and an association of makers was preparing a PGI request.

  1. [aboab2018] Aboab M. 2018, Análisis y aplicación de parámetros de control como herramienta de la IGP « Mató », master's thesis (supervisors I. Codina, A.J. Trujillo), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelonapaper
  2. [diba-mato] Huélamo J.M., Lloret M. 2007, Mató de Montserrat (Marganell), Inventari del Patrimoni Cultural, Diputació de Barcelona, record 08242-30gov
  3. [capellas2001] Capellas M., Mor-Mur M., Sendra E., Guamis B. 2001, Effect of high-pressure processing on physico-chemical characteristics of fresh goats' milk cheese (Mato), International Dairy Journal 11(3):165–173 (abstract)paper