CHEESES OF THE PIEDMONT REGION OF ITALY
Introduction	Bra Tenero	Bra Duro	Raschera	Castelmagno	Toma Piemontese	Murazzano
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Raschera

Characteristics (Denomination of Protected Origin 1 July 1996) - Raschera is a cylindrical or quadrangular shaped cheese with flat surfaces. The cylindrical shape has a diameter of 30-40 cm, a convex edge of 7-9 cm and a weight of 7-9 kg. The square shape has a side of 40 cm, an irregular edge of 12-15 cm and a weight of 8-10 kg. The cheese is ripened for at least 30 days. The crust is thin, elastic and regular, reddish-grey with yellow highlights and red patches. The dough is white or ivory-white with a few small and sparse holes. The texture is firm and elastic. In fresher cheeses, the odour is fine and delicate, becoming more intense and persistent in aged cheese. The taste is mainly sweet and fine but very savoury and mainly salty in ripened products.

Production area – The geographical area of production is the entire province of Cuneo. If the Raschera is produced in the mountain area of the province the cheese can be named “di alpeggio” (from mountain pasture).

Cheesemaking - Raschera is produced with partly skimmed raw or pasteurised cow milk. The milk is coagulated by the addition of bovine liquid rennet at a temperature of 27-30° C. When pasteurised milk is used, a commercial starter generally made containing thermophilic and mesophilic lactic bacteria is used. Generally, each producer uses a different starter to characterise their production. The curd is cut to produce granules with the size of a hazelnut. The curd is collected and drained in muslin and pressed manually. After about 15 minutes, pressing the curd is broken, put in moulds and pressed for at least 7-8 hours. The cheese is then dry-salted (three days per side).

Composition - The composition of Raschera cheese is given in table 3.

How to cite this article

Zeppa, Giuseppe (2004).   [On-line] UK: Available:  Accessed:

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