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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from Switzerland, Ticino

Zincarlin (Zincarlin da la Vall da Mücc)Zincarlin da la Vall da Mücc

Zincarlin is a peppered acid-curd cheese from Ticino. Raw cow milk, sometimes with a little goat milk, is soured with starter and a little rennet for about a day, drained in a cloth, kneaded with salt and coarse black pepper and shaped by hand into a small cone. The aged Muggio Valley cheese then spends about ten days warm and at least two months in a cool cellar, wiped often with white wine and salt. Made in 6 steps over 2.4 months. The longest step, age in a cool cellar, takes at least 2 months (Kulinarisches Erbe der Schweiz / Patrimoine c…) and runs at 11–13 °C (Kulinarisches Erbe der Schweiz / Patrimoine c…). Salt is 1–1.2 % (Kulinarisches Erbe der Schweiz / Patrimoine c…). Lactic starter cultures, which sour the milk over about a day does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 2 monthsReported[patrimoine-ch][slowfood]Age in a cool cellar
Temperature11–13 °CReported[patrimoine-ch]Age in a cool cellar
Salt1–1.2 %Reported[patrimoine-ch]Knead with salt and pepper and shape
AciditypH 4–4.5Reported[patrimoine-ch]Hang in a cloth to drain
Fully documentedCheese2.4 monthsSlow Food Presidium (aged version; the first in Switzerland)Family: Ripened acid-curd cheese family (Harzer, Olomoucké tvarůžky, Gamalost)More ripened sour-milk cheesesMore from Switzerland

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceTraditional farm cheese with no fixed batch size. Fresh cheeses weigh 80–200 g; aged cheeses 250–400 g.
Fresh whole cow milk · Goat milk added when there is some; raw for the aged cheese[patrimoine-ch][slowfood]
Starter cultures and rennet[patrimoine-ch]
about 1–1.2 %Salt · Producers vary[patrimoine-ch]
Coarsely crushed black pepper · A generous amount; fresh cheeses may also get garlic or chives[patrimoine-ch]
White wine, whey, brine or grappa · For wiping the rind of the aged cheese[patrimoine-ch][slowfood]
Starterstarter cultures with a little rennet, acting for about 24 hours

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.4 months

Start
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What changes: Starting material: fresh raw cow milk, sometimes with a little goat milk

Step 1 of 6
Collect fresh whole milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Mostly cow milk; goat milk goes in when available. The aged cheese uses raw milk only.

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

It is a büsción-type acid curd made with lots of coarse black pepper. The aged Muggio Valley version is then wiped with white wine and salt for two months or more, which the fresh cheeses made across Ticino are not.

Milk
Raw cow milk, sometimes with a little goat milk
Ripening
About 10 days warm, then at least 2 months at 11–13 °C (aged version)
Size
Fresh 80–200 g; aged 250–400 g, about 10 cm high and 8–10 cm across at the base

Related ferments

Variants

  • FrescoEaten right after shaping; raw or thermised milk; may include garlic or chives.
  • StagionatoAt least 2 months in the cellar, wiped with wine and salt; Valle di Muggio only.

Safety

The aged cheese is made from raw milk. Makers drain the curd until it reaches about pH 4–4.5, then salt it.

History and sources

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

Oral sources trace it in the Valle di Muggio over at least four generations, and the word was collected around 1920 for the dictionary of Italian-Swiss dialects. Unsold fresh cheeses were salted, peppered and kept in cellars. The aged cheese was nearly lost in the farm crisis of the 1980s, and became Switzerland's first Slow Food Presidium in 2004.

  1. [patrimoine-ch] Kulinarisches Erbe der Schweiz / Patrimoine culinaire suisse, national inventory entry 'Zincarlin', no. 50 (Ticino)archive
  2. [slowfood] Fondazione Slow Food per la Biodiversità, Presidio 'Zincarlin da la Vall da Mücc'web