🧀 Robiola di Roccaverano

Robiola di Roccaverano, also called Roccaverano, is a small soft Italian cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), made from raw goat's milk in the hills of southern Piedmont. The name has been protected in the EU since 2 July 1996; the short name «Roccaverano» can be used interchangeably since the amendment approved by Regulation (EU) 2023/335.

Milk. Only raw goat's milk of the Roccaverano and Camosciata Alpina breeds and their crosses, from successive milkings made within 24 to 48 hours and coming from the production area. The goats graze from 1 March to 30 November and also eat green or dried fodder, cereals, legumes and oilseeds. More than 80% of the feed must come from the area; maize and green silage are banned.

Cheese. A cylinder with straight faces and slightly bevelled edges, 10–14 cm in diameter and 2.5–4 cm high, weighing 250–400 g. Fat is at least 40% of dry matter, protein at least 34% and ash at least 3%. Fresh cheese (prodotto fresco) ripens for 4–10 days: it has a light natural mould bloom or none, a milky white soft creamy paste and a delicate, rich and/or slightly sour taste. Mature cheese (prodotto affinato) ripens for 11 days or more: it has a natural mould bloom and a slightly more compact paste, and its aromas intensify up to pungency. The cheese can also be kept for up to six months in oil in glass jars or in straw.

Area. Ten municipalities in the province of Asti (Bubbio, Cessole, Loazzolo, Mombaldone, Monastero Bormida, Olmo Gentile, Roccaverano, San Giorgio Scarampi, Serole, Vesime) and nine in the province of Alessandria (Cartosio, Castelletto d'Erro, Denice, Malvicino, Merana, Montechiaro d'Acqui, Pareto, Ponti, Spigno Monferrato). Milk production, cheesemaking and ripening, and packing, take place there.

Labelling. Cheeses are sold whole and packed, sealed with an adhesive label bearing the PDO logo and the code number of the production holding.