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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Seirass di latteSairass di latte

Seirass di latte is a "ricotta" made from whole milk, not whey. Raw cow milk is heated fast with salt and a small dose of calf rennet to about 80 °C, so the whey proteins and part of the casein float up as moist flakes. It is a boundary entry, set by rennet and heat with no fermentation, and it is eaten within 3–4 days. Made in 6 steps over 4.3 days – 4.5 days. The longest step, keep cold, takes up to 4 days (Regione Piemonte 2015) and runs at 0–4 °C (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…).

Key numbers
Main stepup to 4 daysSet[piemonte-pat][onaf-sheet]Keep cold
Temperature0–4 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Keep cold
Fully documentedCheese4.3 days – 4.5 daysTraditional food product (PAT, Piemonte, schede tecniche 2015)Family: Acid-heat set cheese family (FERMENTATION BOUNDARY)More acid-heat set cheesesMore from Italy

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceAmounts per 100 litres of milk, as the regional technical sheet gives them.
100 LRaw whole cow milk · Fresh or well chilled, not soured, never mixed with whey[piemonte-pat]
About 0.5 kgTable salt · Added at about 20 °C[piemonte-pat]
About 100 mlLiquid calf rennet · Added at about 35 °C, not to set the milk but to prepare it to flocculate[piemonte-pat]
Starternone

Total time across the recorded steps: 4.3 days – 4.5 days

Start
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20 °C

What changes: Whole milk is heated fast with constant stirring, and salt goes in at about 20 °C

Step 1 of 6
Heat the milk and add salt
Time
Not documented
Temperature
20 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: warm salted milk.

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

Most ricotta is made from whey. Seirass di latte is made from whole milk with a little rennet and heat to about 80 °C, so it holds part of the casein and more fat as well as the whey proteins.

Rind
None; cloth marks
Size
1.0–1.5 kg; rounded cone
Season
October to May

Related ferments

Safety

It is a very moist fresh product. The regional sheet makes the cold chain compulsory, because microbes that get in after heating can spoil it fast or make it unsafe; eat it within 3–4 days.

History and sources

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

The regional sheet thinks it began around Roaschia (Cuneo), known for transhumant sheep, and spread to the provinces of Cuneo and Turin. It was once made mainly from sheep milk, always unmixed.

  1. [piemonte-pat] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 luglio 2015 n. 460, schede tecniche dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, Seirass (Sairass) di latte o Ricotta piemontese, Bollettino Ufficiale BU38S1, 24 September 2015gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet Seirass di latteweb
  3. [onaf] ONAF, scheda formaggio 'Seirass di latte' (id 772)web