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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Seirass stagionato

Seirass is a boundary entry, set by heat, not by microbes. Whey from rennet cow, goat or sheep cheese is heated to 60 °C, 5–10% milk may be added, and at about 90 °C the ricotta rises; unlike fresh ricotta it is heated on slowly to 90–95 °C to dry it. It drains in a cloth, may be pressed, is salted, and ages at least 50–60 days, sometimes wrapped in wild thyme or smoked by the hearth.

Fully documentedCheese50 days – 2 monthsPAT (traditional agri-food product, Piemonte; D.D. 460/2015, product I 11)Family: Whey cheese (heat-precipitated whey protein) family

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe sheet gives the milk share (5–10% of the whey) but no batch size. A seirass weighs 0.5–3.0 kg.
Whey from rennet cheeses of cow, goat or sheep, alone or mixed[pat-sheet]
Milk (optional, for yield)5–10% of the whey[pat-sheet]
Salt[pat-sheet]
Mountain herbs such as wild thyme (optional wrapping)[pat-sheet]
Starternone; heat makes the curd

Total time across the recorded steps: 50 days – 2 months

Start
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60 °C

What changes: Fresh whey is heated to 60 °C and a little milk is stirred in

Step 1 of 5
Heat the whey and add milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
60 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The ricotta is started straight after the cheese so the whey does not grow more acid. In the past a little salt went in at this stage.

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, not by microbes. Whey from rennet cow, goat or sheep cheese is heated to 60 °C, 5–10% milk may be added, and at about 90 °C the ricotta rises; unlike fresh ricotta it is heated on slowly to 90–95 °C to dry it. It drains in a cloth, may be pressed, is salted, and ages at least 50–60 days, sometimes wrapped in wild thyme or smoked by the hearth. Made in 5 steps over 50 days – 2 months. The longest step, dry and age, takes 50 days – 2 months (Regione Piemonte 2015).

Key numbers
Main step50 days – 2 monthsReported[pat-sheet]Dry and age
Temperature60 °CReported[pat-sheet]Heat the whey and add milk

What makes this one different

Once the main way ricotta was eaten in Piedmont. It is heated longer than fresh seirass, to 90–95 °C, so it is drier, then salted and aged at least 50–60 days. Today it is made mostly in summer on the alpine pastures.

Size
Rounded, panettone-shaped or pressed flat, 0.5–3.0 kg
Season
Made from June to September (ONAF technical sheet)
Rind
A light greyish mould film, or a wrapping of mountain herbs such as wild thyme

Related ferments

Safety

The whey is heated to 90–95 °C. The regional sheet names no particular hazard in the method and says ordinary good dairy hygiene is enough, but it reports no test of the aged cheese.

History and sources

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

In the past it was the main way ricotta was eaten, because drying and ageing kept the fresh ricotta's food value for longer. In north-eastern Piedmont it was traditionally smoked in part, laid on a board beside the fireplace or inside it. Today little is made, mostly in summer on the alpine pastures.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460 (BU38S1, 24 September 2015), Schede tecniche prodotti PAT, category I product 11 'Seirass stagionato' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), cheese page 'Seirass stagionato' (id 768)web
  3. [onaf-sheet] ONAF, technical sheet 'Seirass stagionato' (PAT Piemonte)web