Grana Padano
- Maturation
- At least 9 months
Grana Padano
Grana Padano is a hard, cooked-curd cheese with a fine-grained texture, made from partly skimmed raw cow’s milk.
- Milk
- Partly skimmed raw cow’s milk
- Protection
- DOP
- Maturation
- At least 9 months
Choose the form
Riserva
- Maturation
- At least 20 months, with additional checks
From copper vats to a granular cheese
Grana Padano starts with raw cow’s milk, partly skimmed by allowing the cream to rise naturally. In copper or copper-lined vats, natural whey starter and calf rennet set the milk. The curd is broken into fine grains and cooked until the grains become elastic, then left submerged in the whey.
Molds give the wheels their shape and imprint their origin markings. Brining lasts 12–25 days, followed by slow maturation. Grana Padano reaches at least nine months of age before it can be sold under the protected name.
Where Grana Padano is made
The protected area includes specified provinces in Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna, with local boundary exceptions.
Lombardy
Choosing Grana Padano
Use the full protected name, Grana Padano DOP, when choosing this cheese. It matures for at least 9 months.
Questions worth asking
Which milk is used?
It is made with partly skimmed raw cow’s milk.
Where is the protected area?
The protected area includes specified provinces in Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna, with local boundary exceptions.
How long does it mature?
It matures for at least 9 months.
Sources and citations (1)
- MASAFElenco delle DOP e IGP dei prodotti agricoli e alimentariAlphabetical entry Grana Padano, DOP columnRead source
