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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Spain, all of Galicia

Tetilla PDOQueixo Tetilla

Cow milk from Rubia Gallega, Friesian or Brown Swiss cows is set with animal rennet at 28–32 °C in 20–40 minutes. The curd is cut to the size of a chickpea, washed with water to lower its acidity, moulded into a cone and pressed for at least three hours. After up to a day in brine it ripens at least seven days into a soft, buttery cheese shaped like a breast. Made in 6 steps over 8.1 days – 8.2 days. The longest step, ripen at least seven days, takes at least 7 days (Orden de 24 de noviembre de 1993 por la que s…). Lactococcus lactis cultures and Native Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and L. lactis biovar diacetylactis isolated from raw-milk Tetilla, used as an acid-aromatic starter do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 7 daysSet[tetilla-do-1993][tetilla-eu-1996]Ripen at least seven days
Temperature28–32 °CSet[tetilla-do-1993]Set with animal rennet
AciditypH 5–5.5Set[tetilla-do-1993]Ripen at least seven days
Fully documentedCheese8.1 days – 8.2 daysPDO (EU, 1996); Denominación de Origen regulation ratified 1993Family: Uncooked or semi-cooked pressed cheese family (tomme, Saint-Nectaire, Reblochon, Morbier, Raclette)More pressed uncooked cheesesMore from Spain

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe rules fix temperatures, times and limits, not amounts. Milk powder, caseinates, other fats and rind treatments that change the rind are banned.
Cow milk · At least 3.5 % fat; no more than 18 °Dornic acidity when making starts[tetilla-do-1993]
Animal rennet extract · The only coagulant allowed[tetilla-do-1993]
Lactic cultures · Streptococcus lactis and S. cremoris (now Lactococcus lactis), or others the regulatory council approves[tetilla-do-1993]
Calcium chloride · The only addition allowed to the milk[tetilla-do-1993]
Salt, as brine[tetilla-do-1993]
Starter: lactococcal (acid-aromatic) cultures; animal rennet

Total time across the recorded steps: 8.1 days – 8.2 days

Start
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Milk proteinGel (curd)28–32 °Cshapes, not to countLactococcus lactis

What changes: Animal rennet sets the cow milk at 28–32 °C in 20–40 minutes

Step 1 of 6
Set with animal rennet
Time
20–40 min
Set
Temperature
28–32 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis

Output: coagulum.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
gel
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

lactococcal cultures begin to sour the milk

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

Tetilla is known for its cone shape, likened to a woman's breast. Its curd is washed with water to bring the acidity down, and it needs only a week of ripening, so it is sold soft, creamy and mild.

Milk
Cow milk from Rubia Gallega, Friesian or Brown Swiss cows or their crosses
Shape and size
Cone or convex cone, taller than the base radius and no taller than its diameter; 90–150 mm high and across; 0.5–1.5 kg
Composition
At least 45 % fat and 40 % protein in dry matter; dry matter 45–50 %; pH 5.0–5.5 at dispatch
Ripening
At least 7 days

Related ferments

Variants

  • Raw-milk TetillaThe traditional form, whose flavour adjunct cultures try to recover in pasteurised cheese

Safety

The rules set pH 5.0–5.5 at dispatch. In 14 batches made from pasteurised milk with native cultures, coliforms appeared in five, and E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella were not found.

History and sources

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

Galicia's regulatory council for the Tetilla designation of origin had its rules ratified by the Spanish ministry on 24 November 1993, and the name was registered as an EU PDO in 1996. The rules were amended in 2016 and, with a 10 % size tolerance for cheeses over 1 kg, in 2021.

  1. [tetilla-do-1993] Orden de 24 de noviembre de 1993 por la que se ratifica el Reglamento de la Denominación de Origen «Queso Tetilla» y de su Consejo Regulador, BOE núm. 308, 25 Dec 1993, pp. 37016–37022spec
  2. [tetilla-eu-1996] Consejo Regulador D.O. Queso Tetilla, Solicitud de registro DOP (Regulation (EEC) 2081/92 summary, ES), eAmbrosia attachment 62405spec
  3. [tetilla-am-2021] Consejo Regulador DOP Queso Tetilla, Solicitud de aprobación de una modificación menor PDO-ES-0088-AM02 (2020), approved Ares(2021)1683498, eAmbrosia attachment 65760spec
  4. [menendez2004] Menéndez S., Godínez R., Hermida M., Centeno J.A., Rodríguez-Otero J.L. 2004, Characteristics of "Tetilla" pasteurized milk cheese manufactured with the addition of autochthonous cultures, Food Microbiology 21:97–104 (abstract)paper
  5. [centeno2017] Centeno J.A., Garabal J.I., Docampo F., Lorenzo J.M., Carballo J. 2017, Recovering traditional raw-milk Tetilla cheese flavour and sensory attributes by using Kocuria varians and Yarrowia lipolytica adjunct cultures, International Journal of Food Microbiology 251:33–40 (abstract)paper