Bra Tenero takes its name from the town of Bra, which was once the main centre for the maturing and sale of cheeses from the province of Cuneo. It is produced using liquid calf's rennet, with the possible addition of sheep's and goat's milk and has a very thin, supple rind - brown or beige for the mature version and straw-white for the mild version .
The texture is compact and supple with occasional holes. "Bra" is made by coagulating the cow's milk produced in two different milking sessions and adding small percentages of sheep-goat's milk and liquid calf's rennet heated to a temperature of between 27 and 32 degrees. The curd is broken with a rotary movement and crushed into granules the size of a grain of wheat. Before being poured into the mold it is broken a second time.
The cheeses are pressed in the molds for a week at intervals of 24 hours and gradually salted. Alternatively "Bra Tenero (mild)" may be submerged in brine containing 12% salt. This cheese is produced throughout the province of Cuneo and in the Borough of Villafranca Piemonte in the province of Turin . |
