Grana Padano

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About Grana Padano
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The Italian word for grain, referring to any of various very hard cheeses with a granular texture. Such cheeses, like Parmigiano-Reggiano, are particularly suited for grating. This special texture is the result of long aging, which is usually anywhere from 2 to 7 years, though some (rare) cheeses are ripened up to 20 years.

Grana Padano cheese is one of the most popular Denominazione di Origine Controllata cheeses of Italy. The name comes from the noun grana (‘grain’), which refers to the distinctively grainy texture of the cheese, and the adjective Padano, which refers to the river Po.

Like Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano is a semi-fat hard cheese which is cooked and ripened slowly. It is produced by curdling the milk of grass-fed cows. The cows are milked twice a day, the milk is left to stand, and then partially creamed. It is produced all year round and the quality can vary seasonally as well as by year.

A wheel of Grana Padano is cylindrical, slightly convex or almost straight sides, flat faces with a thin rind, 35 to 45 cm in diameter, and 15 to 18 cm in height. It weighs 24 to 40kg per wheel. The rind is white or straw yellow.

Grana Padano is produced in the Italian provinces of Alessandria, Asti, Cuneo, Novara, Turin, Vercelli, Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Mantova to the left of the River Po, Milan, Pavia, Sondrio, Varese, Trento, Padova, Rovigo, Treviso, Venice, Verona, Vicenza, Bologna to the right of the River Reno, Ferrara, Forti, Piacenza and Ravenna. It has been produced since the 12th century, and production and quality are now overseen by the Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Grana Padano.