🇮🇹 Italian cheeses

Italian cheeses are 56 protected EU names, more only in France, and 1.4 million tonnes of cheese in 2024, third in the EU with about 13%. The range runs from Parmigiano Reggiano, aged at least 12 months, to goat's milk Robiola di Roccaverano ¹⁹¹²²⁶.

53 names are PDO (DOP) and 3 are PGI (IGP): Burrata di Andria, Canestrato di Moliterno and Caciottone di Norcia. 29 names have been protected since 1996. PDO and PGI cheeses bring in more than €5.5 billion a year. By production value in 2023 the leaders were Grana Padano (€1.885 billion) and Parmigiano Reggiano (€1.599 billion), followed by Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (€528 million) ¹⁷¹³.

In the north, in the Po valley, hard grainy cheeses are made: Parmigiano Reggiano, from Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and parts of Bologna and Mantua, ripens for at least 12 months and Grana Padano for at least 9. The mountains and foothills gave rise to Fontina (from 80 days), Bitto (from 70), Montasio (from 60) and aged Asiago (from 90). Valle d'Aosta Fromadzo ripens for at least 60 days ^{19101718192027}.

Soft and blue cheeses are mostly northern too. Gorgonzola reached more than 5.27 million wheels in 2024, of which 3.8 million were made in Piedmont, not Lombardy. Taleggio ripens for at least 35 days, and Quartirolo Lombardo is another soft cheese of this area ¹⁴¹⁵²¹.

Sheep's cheeses belong above all to the centre, the south and the islands. Pecorino Romano is made in Lazio, Sardinia and the province of Grosseto and aged at least 5 months, or 8 for grating. Pecorino Toscano comes soft, from 20 days, or aged, from 4 months. There are also Pecorino Sardo, Fiore Sardo and Pecorino Siciliano ¹¹¹²².

The south is the land of pasta filata. Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is made only from buffalo milk, Ragusano is aged at least 3 months and Provolone Valpadana from 10 or 30 days, depending on weight. Unusual milk appears elsewhere too: Bitto may contain up to 10% goat's milk. Caciocavallo Silano is made from raw cow's milk and aged at least 30 days, while fresh goat's milk Robiola di Roccaverano ripens for 4–10 days. Mascarpone and Stracchino have no protected EU name ^{1192324252628}.

Why it matters to you. The full name with the DOP or IGP mark and the EU logo means the cheese was made in a defined area under a specification, supervised by the agriculture ministry MASAF. In the EU the word «Parmesan» may be used only for cheese made to the Parmigiano Reggiano specification, as the EU Court of Justice ruled in 2008. For hard cheeses, check the age on the label, since taste and texture depend on it ³⁸⁹.