Thessaloniki: Cheese from unpasteurized cow’s milk was produced by the American Agricultural School
In the production – for the first time in Greece – of cheese from fresh (ie unpasteurized) cow’s milk, the American College of Agriculture.
The production was done as part of the project Raw Cheesewhich was created by the School’s Strategic Projects Management Office (SPMO), in collaboration with the Veterinary Research Institute of ELGO Dimitras and the Animal Science Laboratory of the Department of Veterinary Medicine of AUTH, with the co-financing of Greece and the Union through NSRF funding.
Abroad, production of cheese from raw milk is quite common and includes highly recognizable products (e.g. Pecorino di Filiano, Cacioricotta, Roquefort, Brie). In Greece, until now mandatory (for health reasons) pasteurization of milk for cheese making, did not allow the production of cheese from raw milk. The new framework recently introduced allows, under conditions, the production of cheese from raw milk. According to article 5 par. 2, of the Ministerial Decision (MA) No. 3724/162303 of the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Official Gazette 3448/22-12-2014, the production of cheeses aged for at least two months is permitted following a decision of the competent veterinary authority from raw milk.
The results of the project were presented yesterday in a special exhibition of the American School of Agriculture.
According to a related announcement, the advantages of making cheese from raw milk are:
- The unique aromatic characteristics that come from feeding the animals on natural pastures are not lost.
- The natural microbial flora of the milk is not destroyed, which affects the ripening of the cheese and its rich aroma.
- No other enzymes are destroyed or used
- Milk proteins are not degraded by the action of heat.