Name

Testun

Seal of quality

Typical food-farming product (PAT)

Description

This cheese has a semi-hard texture, and is traditionally produced using a blend of the milk of the various reared animals: cow, sheep and goat, it is sometimes mixed with goat or sheep milk in the months between March and July. It is of cylindrical form with variable dimensions of between 5 and 7 Kg. with a diameter of 30 – 35 cm. and straight sides of 8 – 10 cm in height. The cheese is white or yellowish in color, with a mild taste, in the case of younger cheese, becoming stronger in more mature cheese. The rind is yellow in color, but it becomes darker a few months after production

The production method involves heating milk at a temperature of 37 °C to which natural liquid rennet is added, and then it is left to coagulate for about an hour, the curd is then broken and allowed to deposit for about 50 minutes. After this operation the cheese is extracted using cloths and then deposited in wrapping. Pressure is applied for 1-2 hours, the cheese is then extracted from the cloths and then crushed with the hands. The whole thing is again inserted inside the wrapping and pressed for 4-5 hours. Then follows the extraction of the mass and dry salting (18-24 hours per face). The maturing perid varies from a minimum of three-four months to one year.

Area of production

The zone from which the milk comes and the zone in which the cheese making process is carried out corresponds to an area to the South of the province of Cuneo, in the Mondavi area.