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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Trentino

Puzzone di Moena PDOPuzzone di Moena

Raw cow milk from two milkings is set with calf rennet, the curd is broken to hazelnut size and semi-cooked, then moulded, pressed and salted. For at least 90 days the wheels are turned and washed with lukewarm, lightly salted water, which builds a greasy ochre-to-reddish rind and a strong smell that gave the cheese its name. Made in 7 steps over 3.1 months – 3.4 months. The longest step, ripen, takes at least 3 months (European Commission 2013) and runs at 10–20 °C (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…). Lactic bacteria of a natural milk starter (lattoinnesto) made in each dairy and Microbes of the raw milk, which the specification credits for the intense flavour do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 3 monthsSet[oj-puzz2013][onaf-puzz]Ripen
Temperature10–20 °CReported[onaf-puzz]Ripen

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification fixes limits, not a recipe. Each wheel is 34–42 cm across, 9–12 cm high and weighs 9–13 kg.
Raw cow milk · Brown, Friesian, Red Pied, Alpine Grey, Rendena and Pinzgau cows; no silage; at least 60% of forage from the area[oj-puzz2013]
Natural milk starter (lattoinnesto) · Made in the dairy from thermised milk[onaf-puzz]
Calf rennet[onaf-puzz]
Salt · Dry salt or brine[onaf-puzz]
Lukewarm water, sometimes lightly salted · For washing the rind[oj-puzz2013]
Starter: natural milk starter made in the dairy, plus calf rennet

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.1 months – 3.4 months

Start
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8–20 °C

What changes: Starting material: raw cow milk from two milkings, partly skimmed by letting cream rise

Step 1 of 7
Collect the raw milk
Time
up to 2.5 days
Reported
Temperature
8–20 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Milk may be partly skimmed by letting the cream rise in basins.

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

Puzzone is a large semi-cooked mountain wheel, but it is wetted with lukewarm water all through ripening, which builds a greasy, nearly airtight rind. The specification ties its strong smell and taste to this washing and to the raw milk of hay- and grass-fed cows.

Milk
Raw cow milk from two milkings, sometimes partly skimmed
Rind
Washed with lukewarm, lightly salted water; greasy, ochre to reddish
Ripening
At least 90 days; 'stagionato' after 150 days
Size
34–42 cm across, 9–12 cm high, 9–13 kg

Related ferments

Variants

  • Puzzone di Moena stagionatoRipened more than 150 days.
  • Puzzone di Moena di malgaMade only in summer from raw milk of cows on mountain pastures at 1700–2000 m; larger eyes and a deeper yellow paste; marked with an M.

Safety

The specification uses raw milk and the cheese is semi-cooked, not hard-cooked. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity not to eat raw-milk cheeses other than hard cooked ones, because of Listeria, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin E. coli.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella and Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli (risks named for raw-milk cheeses).

History and sources

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

A strong "nostrano" with a greasy rind was made long ago in alpine huts, rotating village dairies and mountain farms in Val di Fassa, and as the nostrano of Fiemme or of Primiero. Its sharp, salty taste made it a way to flavour polenta and potatoes in poor mountain kitchens. It won a bronze medal at the 1984 International Mountain Cheese competition in Grenoble, and became a PDO in 2013.

  1. [oj-puzz2013] European Commission 2013, Single document «Puzzone di Moena»/«Spretz Tzaorì», Official Journal of the European Union C 77, 15 March 2013, pp. 21–24 (copy hosted by ONAF)spec
  2. [onaf-puzz] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet «Puzzone di Moena / Spretz Tzaorì DOP»web
  3. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov