Salva (cheese)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Salva cheese from Crema is a PDO table cow's milk
cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
made with raw
curd Curd is obtained by Denaturation (biochemistry), 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, a Kefir cheese, ...
. It is a washed-rind cheese that undergoes a medium or long
aging Ageing (or aging in American English) is the process of becoming Old age, older until death. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi; whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentiall ...
period. Salva is traditionally eaten in the central plain of
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
and produced particularly in the area of Crema,
Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
, and
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
. It is also produced in the provinces of
Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 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''). The Bergamasqu ...
, Lodi, and
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
. Salva has many similarities to Quartirolo, though differs from it by having longer aging and a major aromatic complexity.


Origin of the name

Salva's name comes from the idea of ''salvare il latte'' (), which is the tradition of saving the plentiful
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...
left over from the process of cheesemaking in spring, which is then used to produce Salva cheese. It is also called Salva cremasco () because of its origin and traditional consumption in Crema, although today it is more often produced elsewhere.


History

Its origins date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, when it becomes possible to identify the
parallelepiped In geometry, a parallelepiped is a three-dimensional figure formed by six parallelograms (the term ''rhomboid'' is also sometimes used with this meaning). By analogy, it relates to a parallelogram just as a cube relates to a square. Three equiva ...
profile of Salva on some decorative
truckle A truckle of cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats ...
s. These truckles were straw-white in color and had a thin crust and very rare
eyes An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...
(called ''occhiature''), also associated with modern Salva cheese. Salva is closely connected with the seasonal
transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or Nomad, nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and low ...
that ''bergamini'' (shepherds from Bergamo) undertook with their cows, coming down from the valleys of Bergamo and Brescia towards farms in the lowlands in autumn, and returning to the valleys in spring. During these trips the cows produced more milk than could be consumed, particularly in spring, necessitating its transformation into ''strachì da Salva'' cheese so that it could be preserved in summer. It seems that warlord
Bartolomeo Colleoni Bartolomeo Colleoni (; 1400 – 2 November 1475) was an Italian condottiero who served as the captain-general of the Republic of Venice. Colleoni gained a reputation as one of the foremost tacticians and disciplinarians of the 15th century.'' ...
enjoyed this cheese so much he had some truckles delivered to him during his military inspection of Crema's fortifications.


Production

Full-cream pasteurized milk is used in Salva production. Its
coagulation Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a thrombus, blood clot. It results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The process of co ...
at lasts 30 minutes. The curd is then chopped twice into very small pieces. Finally, the bulky mass is put in a damp location for 8–16 hours. Aging lasts either 3–5 months (in this case the product has an aromatic and fragrant flavour), or 8–12 months. There are rare truckles aged up to 36 months. Sometimes the crust is flavoured with
pomace Pomace ( ), or marc (; from French ''marc'' ), is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing (wine), pressing for juice or Vegetable oil, oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit. Grape pomace has ...
. Salva truckles have a parallelepiped shape with a plain squared side or long, and a straight bowed side long. The average truckle weighs . The crust is washed with water and salt. Cheeses aged for a longer time are oiled. In the past,
linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colorless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...
was used for this purpose. In this way some yellow mildew builds up, penetrating the crust and increasing the flavour. The cheeses are typically branded with the capital letters S and C. On 21 November 2002, the consortium for the safeguard of the Salva Cremasco was established, and Salva was granted
protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...
status due to its uniqueness and traditional method of production.


Uses


Salva and ''tighe''

The most typical preparation of Salva in the Crema area is ''Salva con le tighe'' (Salva with
pickled Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called ...
green Lombard peppers). The Salva is cut in little cubes and served with ''tighe'' cut into large strips without seeds, and a small amount of
olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...
. The combination is left to rest before consumption according to taste; it is thought too much oil makes the cheese macerate.


Other preparations

Salva can be used in a variety of dishes from starters to desserts, and from first to second courses.


See also

* List of Italian cheeses


References


Bibliography

* ''Mangià Nustrà'', a cura di Daniela Bianchessi e Roberta Schira, Grafin, s.d. * ''Ricettario tradizionale di Cremona, Crema, Casalmaggiore, ''a cura di Marta Bergamaschi, Umberto Soncini Editore. * ''Sapori cremaschi, ricette dalla cucina di Crema, ''raccolte da Marzia Ermentini. * ''Ricette da salvare, ''a cura di Consorzio Tutela Salva Cremasco. {{Italian cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses Cheeses with designation of origin protected in the European Union Italian products with protected designation of origin Ark of Taste foods Lombard cheeses