C 200/22
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
8.6.2023
Special know-how is required for the ripening process of ‘Lajta sajt’.
The cheeses are rotated every 3-4 days and washed with brine to increase the intensity of bacteria growth.
They must be turned and washed by hand very carefully and must not be wiped.
‘Lajta sajt’ ripens for 2 weeks, by which time the red culture completely covers the surface.
Starting from the surface, the intense ripening moves towards the centre and is complete by the time ‘Lajta sajt’ is mature.
Another feature of ripening is the rapid increase in the pH value of the rind, caused by the breakdown of lactate (into carbon dioxide and water) by certain yeasts (e.g. Oospora lactis) growing naturally on the surface.
The ripening of ‘Lajta sajt’ is characterised by the rapid degradation of most of the proteins, which means that 50-60 % of them take the form of peptides, partly in the form of amino acid compounds, by week 2 of the ripening process.
After 3 weeks of ripening, the ammonia taste and smell are detectable and the texture continues to soften, so the cheese must be stored from the third week at a temperature of between 2 °C and 8 °C in order to be edible and maintain its characteristic properties.
The reputation of ‘Lajta sajt’ is based on its taste, flavourfulness, smell, extremely pleasant crumbly texture and uniquely uniform quality.
It was, and still is, primarily a favourite with gourmet cheese lovers and, thanks to the intense proteolysis, ranks among the most easily digestible varieties of cheese.
A thematic blog on cheeses refers to ‘Lajta sajt’ as a famous and rightly popular Hungarian cheese, which is classified as one of the cheeses which ripen with red cultures and described as follows: ‘The rind is thin, elastic and dark yellowish-red in colour.
The body of the cheese is dense, with small eyes, and has a distinctive, aromatic and pleasantly sharp taste.
It slices and grates easily, making it perfect for sandwiches and with toast, and it can also be eaten with pasta.
I would recommend it for any dish requiring cheese.’
Source: https://sajtologia.blog.hu/2015/09/09/ ha_lajta_van_rajta ‘Lajta sajt’ has frequently achieved recognition at domestic and international cheese competitions, garnering: — a gold certificate at the 2011 Hungarian National Cheese Competition in Csermajor; — first prize outright among the traditional national cheeses of 15 countries at the National Cheese Competition organised as part of the 22nd Budavár Wine Festival in 2013; — the gold medal at the 2018 National Cheese Rally; — second place at the 2019 Mikulov Cheese Festival in Czechia; — great acclaim as a guest at the 2021 ‘Caseus Veneti’ cheese exhibition.
The exhibition is open to small-scale cheese manufacturers making unique products with local characteristics.
Source: https://www.padovaoggi.it/foto/eventi/ caseus-veneti-piazzola-25-26-settembre-2021.html/ Reference to publication of the specification https://gi.kormany.hu/foldrajzi-arujelzok