AOP & DOP Registered Cheeses

[Cheese Head]

Many famous cheeses are registered such that only cheeses made that way and in that area can use that name, similar to Champagne only being able to come from Champagne region of France. I guess basically a copywrite system.

Two such registrations that I know of are:

• Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) for France.
• Denominazione di Origine Protetta (DOP) for Italy.

I've noticed member DeejayDebi posting about the DOP cheeses where she is rebuilding those recipes.

Debi (or others), do you have any favorite links on these "associations"?

[DeejayDebi]

There are dozens of them all over Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_designation_of_origin

The sites themselves don't really tell you much however the registration forms of the particular product can tell you alot.

You just have to search in the language of origin. A seller of a product can command top dollar if he has his products approved. This shows a top quality product. They will usually post on their site somewhere the documents which may show fairly detailed processes for making cheese for example such as times, temperatures etc. Sometimes the translations are a bit odd though.

Due to the areas they raise their animals in and ripen their cheeses they often don't use cultures. In fact it is quite often against the law to use manufactured cultures - particularly in Italy.

These certifications can also be revoked if the quality does not meet the critiera listed in the documents. Here is a god example of what you can find.

http://www.formaggio.it/home.htm

[Sailor Con Queso]

Deb - Do you speak Italian? Looks like a wonderful site, but it's way over my head. 

[DeejayDebi]

I speak little to no Italian, Spanish, French, German and latin. I recognize some of what I learned from grade school and colledge. I have had no one to speak Italian with since Mama died in 1981 and I seem to be only be able recognize certain words and concepts these days.

I scan the text for things that I recognize as a recipe then I use bablefish to translate all the different languages that I can identify. Occasionally I can not find out what language I am reading. I foud one last night I would have sworn was almost Greman but it wasn't. 

I have gotten 100's of recipes this way. The trick is figuring out the cultures to use to make the cheeses. This can be helped by finding research papers or just knowing that certain countries tend to have a particular culture or cultures that is naturally ocurring in there cheeses.

[Sailor Con Queso]

VERY cool Deb. What kind of keywords are you searching for to zero in on German cheeses (for example)? Are you searching in the foreign language?

There are really only 7 starter bacteria that we use for ripening plus the Lactic bacteria that are naturally occurring in raw milk. However, there are potentially thousands of "varieties" that may be unique to a given region. The possibilities are endless. It's also not just the bacteria used, but the proportions. The balance can really change the way things ripen and age. For example, when making Emmental or Swiss I use a mix of 50/50 TA61 and LH100. When making Parmesan or Romano I use the same cultures but the mix is 20/80. Why? TA61 is a relatively fast acid producer, but does not completely breakdown lactose. The LH100 takes over and completes the process. (some info provided by the Dairy Connection). I mention this because a given region might have a different balance of natural bacteria as well as unique varieties. When a recipe simply calls for a "Meso" or "Thermo" culture, they are leaving out some really important details.

..and back to the point of this thread. Sometimes these unique biological attributes cannot be copied and deserve to be "registered".

[DeejayDebi]

For German cheeses I'd start searching with "Herstellung des Käses" or "Herstellung der deutschen Käse." Making of or fabrication of works well in the search.

Your right some things can not be duplicated and shouldn't but some can come close enough to be satisfying. I try to get hints from research papers about the types of strains analyzed and go from there. Sometimes it's darn close and just needs a bit of tweeking and sometimes it's an all new flavor that I end up developing for it's own sake.

I've always enjoyed trying to duplicate things I like. I am very good at it. In any event it's the challenge that makes quest worthwhile. Sometimes if I get just right on the first try it's almost disappointing.