Quartirolo Lombardo ( lmo, Quartiroeul Lombard) is a soft

table cheese Table may refer to: * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (landform), a flat area of land * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns * Table (database), how the table data ...

made with

cow's milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...

, which has a

Protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...

(PDO) status.

History

The beginning of its production dates back to the

10th century The 10th century was the period from 901 ( CMI) through 1000 ( M) in accordance with the Julian calendar, and the last century of the 1st millennium. In China the Song dynasty was established. The Muslim World experienced a cultural zenith, ...

. Its production was seasonal, the cheese was made at the end of the summer with the milk of cows that had eaten "" ("grass of the fourth"), that is the grass that had grown again after the third cut. Nowadays, it is made all year around, it has been recognised by the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

and registered in the PDP list with ECC Reg. n. 1107/96. Disciplinare di produzione della Denominazione di origine del formaggio "Quartirolo lombardo" DPCM 10 maggio 1993 –

Gazzetta Ufficiale The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana'' (Italian, ) is the official journal of record of the Italian government. It is published by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome. Function The ''Gazzetta Ufficiale'' promulgate ...

n. 196 of 21st august 1993

Production area

The milk source area, the cheese production area and

cheese ripening Cheese ripening, alternatively cheese maturation or affinage, is a process in cheesemaking. It is responsible for the distinct flavour of cheese, and through the modification of "''ripening agents''", determines the features that define many d ...

area of "Quartirolo lombardo" consist of the country of the Provinces of

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

Lecco Lecco (, , ; lmo, label=Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). ...

, Lodi,

Milano Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

and

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

Description

The shape is a rectangular parallelepiped with the straight cheese side. The weight of a cheese wheel may span from to . The rind is thin and soft, white pinky in cheese at first ageing and grey-green reddish in the one more aged. The

curd Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet or any edible acidic substance such as lemon ...

texture Texture may refer to: Science and technology * Surface texture, the texture means smoothness, roughness, or bumpiness of the surface of an object * Texture (roads), road surface characteristics with waves shorter than road roughness * Texture (c ...

is cohesive, slightly gummy, possibly with few detachments, crumbly and it becomes more compact and soft as the ageing goes on. The colour goes from white to straw-white, it can become more intense in the aged cheese. The flavour is distinctive, slightly sour - aromatic in the cheese at the first ageing and more aromatic in the one at full ageing. The fat in the dry material is not less than 30% for the product obtained from

semi-skimmed milk Skimmed milk (British English), or skim milk (American English), is made when all the milkfat is removed from whole milk. It tends to contain around 0.1% fat. Background Historically, skimmed milk was used for fattening pigs, and was recommended ...

.Source: art.3 disciplinare di produzione del Quartirolo Lombardo

Production process

Quartirolo is produced with whole or semi-skimmed cow's milk coming from two or more

milking Milking is the act of removing milk from the mammary glands of cattle, water buffalo, humans, goats, sheep, and, more rarely, camels, horses and donkeys. Milking may be done by hand or by machine, and requires the animal to be currently or recen ...

Coagulation Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a blood clot. It potentially results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The mechanism o ...

is made with veal's

rennet Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin and a ...

at temperature near - in 25 minutes. Adding of a milk starter culture is allowed, done exclusively at the same cheese factory where the milk is worked. The breaking of the curd is done at two separate times and controlled by the acid evolution of the

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...

. At the end of the second breaking, the clumps are the size of a hazelnut. The diary mass, mixed with whey, is put in moulds and then stewed at - for 4 to 24 hours. Salting is done dry or in a

brine Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...

bath.

Cheese ripening Cheese ripening, alternatively cheese maturation or affinage, is a process in cheesemaking. It is responsible for the distinct flavour of cheese, and through the modification of "''ripening agents''", determines the features that define many d ...

takes place in suitable cells, at a temperature of - and at a

relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

of 85-90%; the ageing time last from 5 to 30 days for the kind with soft curd, later than 30 days the product is sold as aged "Quartirolo Lombardo". No treatment of the rind is allowed.

Nutritional value

References

External links

* {{Italian cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses Italian products with protected designation of origin Lombard cheeses