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Cheese from Serbia — villages on Mount Zlatar, around Nova Varoš

Zlatarski sir (Zlatar cheese)Zlatarski sir

Raw whole cow milk is set with rennet at 29–35 °C for at least 2 hours, cut, drained in cloths and pressed 4–6 hours into a thin slab. The slab is cut into palm-sized slices that are layered with dry salt in tubs, kept under their own whey and ripened at least 30 days. No starter culture is used.

Fully documentedCheese30 daysSerbian designation of origin (ime porekla), study filed by the Uvačka reka mleka breeders' associationFamily: White brined cheese family (Feta PDO as template)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceHousehold practice; the specification gives the rennet dose per litre but no batch size.
Raw whole cow milk from the areaAt least 3.2 % milk fat, 3.0 % protein and 8.5 % solids-not-fat[zlatar-elaborat]
Liquid rennetabout 1.5–2 ml per litre of milk[zlatar-elaborat]
Salt, layered between the slicesThe amount is judged by experience[zlatar-elaborat]
Fresh whey from the same day's make, for topping upSome makers top up with water when they lack whey[zlatar-elaborat]
Starternone; the cheese is made from raw milk without any added culture

Total time across the recorded steps: 30 days

Start
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What changes: Fresh raw milk is strained through a cloth into a pot

Step 1 of 8
Milk and filter
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus paracasei
Lactobacillus brevis
Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactococcus lactis

Milking is by hand or machine, morning and evening; the milk is filtered through cloth straight away.

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

Raw whole cow milk is set with rennet at 29–35 °C for at least 2 hours, cut, drained in cloths and pressed 4–6 hours into a thin slab. The slab is cut into palm-sized slices that are layered with dry salt in tubs, kept under their own whey and ripened at least 30 days. No starter culture is used. Made in 8 steps over 30 days. The longest step, ripen under whey, takes at least 30 days (Udruženje stočara 'Uvačka reka mleka') and runs at 20–25 °C → 10 °C (Udruženje stočara 'Uvačka reka mleka'). Salt is up to 3 % (Udruženje stočara 'Uvačka reka mleka'). Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei, Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, more common in raw milk and one-day-old cheese do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 30 daysReported[zlatar-elaborat]Ripen under whey
Temperature20–25 °C → 10 °CReported[zlatar-elaborat]Ripen under whey
Saltup to 3 %Reported[zlatar-elaborat]Ripen under whey
AciditypH at least 4.5Reported[zlatar-elaborat]Ripen under whey

What makes this one different

Zlatar cheese is pressed into a thin slab, cut into slices, layered with dry salt and kept under its own whey. It is made from raw milk with no starter, so the milk's own lactic bacteria ripen it.

Milk
Raw whole cow milk; about 90 % of the cattle are local Simmental-type
Ripening
At least 30 days under whey
Composition
Fat at least 50 % of dry matter; water in fat-free matter at least 67 %; salt at most 3 %; pH at least 4.5

Related ferments

Safety

Made from raw milk with no starter. The specification calls weekly care of the whey and tubs a key preventive step, and the label says to keep it at +4 to +8 °C. Those steps do not make raw milk safe. ANSES advises pregnant women, young children, people over 65 and people with weak immunity to avoid raw-milk cheeses other than cooked pressed ones such as Gruyère or Comté.

History and sources

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

Made in households on Mount Zlatar. The production area includes the Uvac Special Nature Reserve. Studies in 2007 found no starter is used and proposed native strains as starters for industrial production. A designation of origin was sought by the Uvačka reka mleka breeders' association of Božetići, Nova Varoš.

  1. [anses2022] ANSES 2022, Fromages au lait cru, quels risques pour la santé et comment mieux les prévenir (8 April 2022)gov
  2. [zlatar-elaborat] Udruženje stočara 'Uvačka reka mleka', Elaborat za zaštitu oznake geografskog porekla 'Zlatarski sir' (study for the protection of the designation of origin), Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia, file G-64gov
  3. [terzic2007] Terzić-Vidojević A., Vukašinović M., Veljović K., Ostojić M., Topisirović L. 2007, Characterization of microflora in homemade semi-hard white Zlatar cheese, International Journal of Food Microbiology 114:36–42, doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2006.10.038 (abstract)paper
  4. [veljovic2007] Veljović K. et al. 2007, Preliminary characterization of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Zlatar cheese, Journal of Applied Microbiology 103:2142–2152, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2672.2007.03450.x (abstract)paper
  5. [sokovic2019] Soković Bajić S. et al. 2019, GABA-producing natural dairy isolate from artisanal Zlatar cheese attenuates gut inflammation and strengthens gut epithelial barrier in vitro, Frontiers in Microbiology 10:527, doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.00527paper