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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Seirass del fenSarass del fèn

Seirass is a boundary entry, set by heat and acid, not by microbes. Fresh whey is heated to at most 70 °C, 5–15% whole milk is added, and at up to 85 °C citric acid, vinegar or a herb mix (Bouna) makes the proteins rise; the ricotta is cooked on to 90–95 °C to dry it. It hangs in a cloth, may be pressed, is salted and aged at least 21 days, then wrapped in dried mountain hay that stays green.

Fully documentedCheese22 days – 3 monthsPAT (traditional agri-food product, Piemonte; D.D. 460/2015, product I 09)Family: Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe sheet gives the milk share (5–15% of the whey) but no batch size. A seirass weighs 0.700–3.00 kg.
Whey from the cheese just made, cow, sheep or goat or a mix[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Raw whole milk, cow, sheep or goat (usually not from Friesian cows)5–15% of the whey[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Citric acid, vinegar or Bouna (a local mix of aromatic herbs) as the acidifier[pat-sheet]
Salt[pat-sheet]
Mountain hay of Festuca, gathered in spring and summer and dried in the shade[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Starternone; heat and an added acid make the curd

Total time across the recorded steps: 22 days – 3 months

Start
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up to 70 °C

What changes: Whole milk is stirred into the warm whey at no more than 70 °C

Step 1 of 6
Heat the whey and add milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
up to 70 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
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

At a glance

Seirass is a boundary entry, set by heat and acid, not by microbes. Fresh whey is heated to at most 70 °C, 5–15% whole milk is added, and at up to 85 °C citric acid, vinegar or a herb mix (Bouna) makes the proteins rise; the ricotta is cooked on to 90–95 °C to dry it. It hangs in a cloth, may be pressed, is salted and aged at least 21 days, then wrapped in dried mountain hay that stays green. Made in 6 steps over 22 days – 3 months. The longest step, age, takes 21 days – 3 months (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main step21 days – 3 monthsReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Age
Temperatureup to 70 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Heat the whey and add milk

What makes this one different

A pressed, aged ricotta of the Waldensian valleys, cooked to 90–95 °C to dry it, aged at least three weeks and sold wrapped in green Festuca hay.

Size
Roughly round, 10–20 cm across and 10–15 cm high, 0.700–3.00 kg
Rind
No true rind; a mould film from straw yellow to green-grey under green hay

Related ferments

Safety

The regional sheet rates it of medium-high safety because of the strong heat treatment, up to 90–95 °C. It names the drying time and the moisture left in the finished cheese as the difficulties, and says the Festuca hay must be gathered, cleaned and dried with care.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet traces "saras" to 1267–68 records of the Chatel-Argent fief and to Pantaleone da Confienza's 1477 treatise, and cites the 1883 Jacini agrarian inquiry. The name comes from serum, whey, and the hay wrapping gave "del fèn".

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460 (BU38S1, 24 September 2015), Schede tecniche prodotti PAT, category I product 09 'Seirass del fen o Saras del fèn' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Sarass del fèn'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Sarass del fèn' (id 766)web