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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Minas Gerais, Brazil

Queijo Minas Artesanal (Canastra, Serro, Salitre, Araxá, Cerrado, Campo das Vertentes)queijo Minas artesanal

semi-hard raw-milk farm cheese. Made in 4 steps over 22 days. The longest step, ripen on wooden shelves, takes at least 22 days (UFMG dissertation on pingo communities 1843). Lactococcus lactis and Streptococcus spp. do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 22 daysMeasured[ufmg-dissertation][usp-thesis2019][laticinios-candido2009]Ripen on wooden shelves
Temperature30–35 °CReported[ufmg-dissertation][usp-thesis2019][laticinios-candido2009]Add pingo and rennet to raw milk right after milking
DocumentedCheese22 daysMore other cheesesMore from Brazil

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
raw cow milk
Starter: 'pingo' — salted whey that drips from yesterday's cheeses, used as backslop starter (no legislation on pingo parameters)

Total time across the recorded steps: 22 days

Start
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30–35 °Cshapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria

What changes: Pingo and rennet go into the raw milk straight after milking

Step 1 of 4
Add pingo and rennet to raw milk right after milking
Time
30 min – 1 h
Typical
Temperature
30–35 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: coagulum.

Flavour
milky
Texture
gel
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

pingo LAB

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

Variants

  • Queijo Minas Frescalfresh pasteurised industrial (not ripened)
  • Queijo Minas Padrãoindustrial ripened

Safety

raw milk; 22-day minimum ripening rule studied for pathogen control.

History and sources

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

Portuguese Serra da Estrela methods brought in 18th c. (commonly cited).

  1. [ufmg-dissertation] UFMG dissertation on pingo communities, repositorio.ufmg.br/bitstream/1843/39294/1/Dissertação.pdfpaper
  2. [usp-thesis2019] USP master's thesis, Canastra pathogens, teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/9/9131/tde-03122019-125240paper
  3. [laticinios-candido2009] Rev. Inst. Laticínios Cândido Tostes 2009 (doaj 07d510aa1bb34c71ac938cd205947fc3)other