| Stracchini | |
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Milk zootechny represents the main agricultural activity in the area of Bronzone Mountain. Some breeders pooled in the Monte Bronzone and Low Sebino Agricultural Cooperative that collects the milk from the members and deliver it to a private dairy, but most farms convert the milk directly inside. They produce a wide range of stracchinoes: hard and semi-cooked paste with different maturing levels (stracchino, taleggio, formaggella and cheeses). These products can be defined the traditional ones, because they are obtained following the ancient tradition and matured in the typical mountain “casere”. The marketing takes place or directly to the customer or through different local shopkeepers who buy fresh products from the farmers, make them mature and then retail them without any problems, because they are very required and appreciated. The most widespread is stracchino (Bronzone), that a year ago was included in the traditional products of Region Lombardy and in typical traditional cheeses with the mark “Bergamo – the city of thousand tastes” of the Chamber of Commerce of Bergamo. |
| Stracchino "Bronzone" | |
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Stracchino "Bronzone" of San Fermo and/or Vigolo Hills is a typical table soft-paste cheese of very ancient origins. Article 1 Stracchino "Bronzone" is a raw, soft paste cheese, only produced with cow’s whole milk. It’s a squared-based parallelepiped, with an 18-25 cm side and a 5-7 cm thickness. The production zone is the whole Monte Bronzone area, in particular S.Fermo and Vigolo hills. Article 2 The production technique of stracchino "Bronzone" must take place the following way: Milk manufacture must take place immediately after the milking. The curdling at 37-38 °C must be obtained between 30 and 40 minutes, paying attention that, during this period, the temperature remains uniform. The rooms where the milk is manufactured must be well sheltered to avoid fast cooling of the mass, especially if you are manufacturing little milk; When the curd is bright, it is cut in clear corners, roughly broken by the skimmer with slow and delicate movements, mixing the upper layer with the lower ones, in order to get a uniform temperature and fat. They let it rest for about 10 minutes until whey will completely cover it, then it is more finely broken, using the curd knife or the skimmer, without extending this operation for too long (5-10 minutes maximum); They let the curd rest at the bottom of the recipient for about 5-10 minutes so that it can well part from the whey; They assemble the curd in the proper clothes (2-3 kg each one), then let it strain in the squared wooden cheese moulds placed on a spersoio, at the bottom of which there are some little looms made of rye wood and plastic; “spersoi” containing stracchinoes must be placed in a room having a temperature of about 20°C and a humidity of about 90%. They are left in this room for about 18-24 hours, turning the cheeses over and over again, in order to complete the purging and favour the formation of a light rind; Article 3 When stracchino reaches the right level of consistency and is covered with a white mould, cheeses are taken to the salting room whose temperature must be around 10-12°C; Salting lasts 4-6 days, putting salt on a side and then turning the cheese over everyday. So each side is salted 3-4 times, each time using small quantities of refined and dry salt. The quantity of salt is about 2% of the weight of the cheese and varies from 35 to 45 gr. per cheese. Article 4 Maturation must take place in a room characterised by a temperature of 6-10°C and a humidity of 90%, placing the cheeses on flights of steps. Cheeses are turned over and over again and cleaned with the aid of a cloth soaked in pickle solution that acts as antiseptic against moulds; Stracchino can be put on the market after 10-15 days. It can also mature longer becoming more aromatic and spicy. Article 5 The characteristics of the product must be the following ones: Fat: 48% minimum on the dry substance; Middle weight: 1,7 – 2,2 kg; Mould: soft, thin and rosy; Paste: row, melting, compact, but friable, slightly hard and white in the middle; occhiatura: assente o limitata a occhi molto piccoli; Taste: sweet, creamy, and slightly acid; Smell: of milk and cream. |
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