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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Southern and central Italy

Scamorzascamorza

Cow milk is set with calf rennet and a soured-milk or whey starter, and the curd sours under its whey for a few hours until it will stretch. It is then stretched in hot water, shaped by hand into a pear with a pinched neck, firmed in cold water and aged briefly, often tied in pairs; one version is smoked. Made in 5 steps over 10 days. The longest step, firm in cold water and age briefly, takes 10 days (ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency)) and runs at 4 °C (ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency)). Streptococcus thermophilus, the most acidifying starter strain and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, dominant with S. thermophilus in a back-slopped make do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step10 daysReported[arsial-scamorza]Firm in cold water and age briefly
Temperature4 °CReported[arsial-scamorza]Firm in cold water and age briefly

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedTraditional make with no fixed amounts.
Whole cow milk · Raw in the Lazio traditional make[arsial-scamorza]
Liquid calf rennet[arsial-scamorza]
Starter · Milk soured in the fridge for 2 days (Lazio); natural whey starters or Streptococcus thermophilus in other makes[arsial-scamorza][baruzzi2002][guidone2015]
Salt · Added while stretching in the Lazio make[arsial-scamorza]
Starter: soured milk (latto-innesto), natural whey starter or Streptococcus thermophilus

Total time across the recorded steps: 10 days

Start
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38 °Cshapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria

What changes: Rennet and a soured-milk starter go into warm milk and it sets fast

Step 1 of 5
Warm the milk and add rennet and starter
Time
10 min
Reported
Temperature
38 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
gel
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

soured-milk starter brings lactic bacteria

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

Scamorza is stretched like mozzarella but shaped into a pear with a neck, tied in pairs and left to dry and firm for days, so it is firmer. Its ripening is short, under a month, and a smoked version (scamorza affumicata) is also made.

Milk
Cow milk; sheep and buffalo versions exist
Ripening
Short, under 30 days; 10 days at 4 °C in the Lazio make

Related ferments

Variants

  • Scamorza affumicataSmoked version.
  • Scamorza ripiena (Latina)Filled with olives and anchovies.
  • Scamorza AltamuranaPuglia make with a back-slopped whey starter; curd ferments 18 h, cheese ripens 6 days.

History and sources

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

  1. [arsial-scamorza] ARSIAL (Lazio regional agency), Lazio patrimonio agroalimentare, traditional product sheet Scamorza vaccina (semplice o ripiena)gov
  2. [guidone2015] Guidone A., Braghieri A., Cioffi S., Claps S., Genovese F., Morone G., Napolitano F., Parente E. 2015, Effect of adjuncts on microbiological and chemical properties of Scamorza cheese, Journal of Dairy Science 98(3):1467–1478, doi:10.3168/jds.2014-8554 (abstract)paper
  3. [baruzzi2002] Baruzzi F., Matarante A., Morea M., Cocconcelli P.S. 2002, Microbial community dynamics during the Scamorza Altamurana cheese natural fermentation, Journal of Dairy Science 85(6):1390–1397, doi:10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(02)74206-9 (abstract)paper