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Cheese from Italy, Piemonte

Tomino canavesano asciuttoTomino sott'olio

The fresh lactic Tomino canavesano, dried so it can be kept in oil. Whole cow milk is soured to pH 6.40–5.80, set slowly with a little rennet at 25–30 °C over 6–12 hours, ladled uncut into moulds and drained half a day. The tomini are then dried for up to half a day at 30–40 °C and 60–70% humidity, dipped in vinegar and packed in jars with oil and herbs.

Fully documentedCheese40 h – 46 hPAT (traditional agri-food product, Piemonte; D.D. 460/2015, product D 39)Family: Fresh lactic (acid-set) cheese family

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe regional sheet gives the rennet dose per 100 litres of milk. A small tomino weighs 40–60 g.
Whole cow milk, more and more often pasteurised[pat-sheet]
Rennet5–15 cc per 100 litres of milk[pat-sheet]
Salt[pat-sheet]
Vinegar, oil (not always olive) and herbs or spices, for the dressed type[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]

Total time across the recorded steps: 40 h – 46 h

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria20–30 °CpH 5.8–6.4Milk sugarLactic acid

What changes: Whole cow milk sours slightly to pH 6.40–5.80 over about 10 hours

Step 1 of 5
Pre-ripen the milk
Time
10 h
Reported
Temperature
20–30 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 5.8–6.4
Reported
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Lactococcus lactis
L. mesenteroides
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

lactic bacteria 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

At a glance

The fresh lactic Tomino canavesano, dried so it can be kept in oil. Whole cow milk is soured to pH 6.40–5.80, set slowly with a little rennet at 25–30 °C over 6–12 hours, ladled uncut into moulds and drained half a day. The tomini are then dried for up to half a day at 30–40 °C and 60–70% humidity, dipped in vinegar and packed in jars with oil and herbs. Made in 5 steps over 40 h – 46 h. The longest step, slow set with a little rennet, takes 6–12 h (Regione Piemonte 2015) and runs at 25–30 °C (Regione Piemonte 2015). Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides, the main bacteria of Robiola di Roccaverano PDO, a related soft Piedmont cheese set by a natural milk culture (made from raw goat milk, not cow milk); not measured in this tomino does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step6–12 hReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Slow set with a little rennet
Temperature25–30 °CReported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Slow set with a little rennet
AciditypH 5.8–6.4Reported[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]Pre-ripen the milk

What makes this one different

The fresh lactic Tomino canavesano, dried for some hours at 30–40 °C so it can be dressed and kept under oil without gas forming.

Size
Small forms 40–60 g; ONAF also lists a classic form of 0.250–0.300 kg, 10 cm across and 3–4 cm high
Rind
None, or so thin it is eaten with the paste

Related ferments

Variants

  • Classico: plain, sweet
  • Aromatizzato: dressed with vinegar, oil and herbs and sold in jars (the more common form)

Safety

The milk is soured to pH 6.40–5.80 before setting, and the tomini are dried before they go under oil so they do not make gas. The sheet says the jars keep a long time, even out of the fridge. The sheet gives no pH for the dried cheese or the vinegar dip. The CDC names chopped garlic in oil among sources of botulism, and it says to refrigerate homemade oils made with garlic or herbs and to throw them away after 4 days. Do not treat a home-packed jar as shelf-stable.

History and sources

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

The ONAF sheet says Tomino canavesano asciutto has very old origins. It was dried in special cages, to keep flies off, in a cool airy place, and once dry it was easier to carry in baskets to local markets. It is cited in many Canavese writers of the 1800s and early 1900s and was always on the table at the marenda sinoira, an afternoon snack that nearly served as supper. Traditionally it was passed through vinegar and peppered to keep better. In the past it was also put under oil, but oil was scarce and precious, so it was added only at the time of eating.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Piemonte, D.D. 24 July 2015 n. 460 (BU38S1, 24 September 2015), Schede tecniche prodotti PAT, category D product 39 'Tomino canavesano asciutto' (copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet 'Tomino canavesano asciutto'web
  3. [onaf] ONAF, cheese page 'Tomino canavesano asciutto' (id 480)web
  4. [biolcati2021] Biolcati F, Ferrocino I, Bottero MT, Dalmasso A (2021) The Bacterial and Fungal Microbiota of "Robiola di Roccaverano" Protected Designation of Origin Raw Milk Cheese. Frontiers in Microbiology 12:776862paper
  5. [cdc-botulism] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Botulism Preventiongov