Getting to Know Grana Padano: The King of Cheese from Italy
- Cheese.com
Italy – In Italy, famous for having so many cheeses. It can be hard for one particular cheese to stand out. But, there is a big cheese or named as the king of cheese, Grana Padano.
This cheese is called grana padano because it has a texture composed of grains (grana). Grana padano was first made by Cistercian priests from Chiaravelle, northern Italy in the 12th century.
It was the first hard cheese ever made. Grada padano has also been certified as an authentic Italian cheese, as quoted from Cheese.com
Keju grana padano.
- Freepik/Racool_studio
In 1996, on June 12 to be precise, grana padano received a DOP certificate (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) which is a guarantee or confirmation that this cheese is made using milk and techniques originating from certain regions only.
The specialty of this cheese lies in its ingredients and manufacturing process, which is from unpasteurized semi-skimmed milk and fermented for approximately two years.
Unlike soft cheddar cheese, when ripe, grana padano has a hard, thick, dry texture and a rough interior.
Despite being hard and rough, grana padano has a very ripe, savory, and complex flavor. Not only that, despite its title of "king", grana padano is not expensive.
In fact, this favorite cheese from the Po River Valley, Italy, is very affordable. The price is in stark contrast to the other king of cheese, parmigiano reggiano.
Since the 1950s, Grana Padano has been made in exactly the same way. 1,000 litres of semi-skimmed milk from cows reared in the Po Valley are used to make just two wheels of the cheese, which must be matured for at least nine months.
At this point, the cheese is checked over by an expert who uses a special hammer to check the texture and a needle to pierce the wheel and ensure everything is up to scratch.
If it passes the rigorous tests, then it is officially approved by the consortium, with a firebrand burning the Grana Padano logo into the rind.
There are around 130 dairies dedicated to producing Grana Padano across five of Italy’s northern regions, with nearly five million wheels made every year.
After nine months of maturing and passing all the tests, a wheel of Grana Padano is ready for sale. A pale yellow colour with a light, milky flavour, it’s best used for shaving over salads or melting over hot dishes.
However, some dairies leave the cheese even longer to achieve different flavours and textures. If it’s matured for over sixteen months, then the grainy consistency becomes more pronounced, crumbling when cut.
Its sweetness begins to become overpowered by tangy, more savoury flavours, which work particularly well in soups, risottos and quiches. Finally, there’s the ‘Riserva’ – aged for at least twenty months with an incredibly rich, complex and full flavour.
This is a truly special cheese which is best enjoyed as part of a cheeseboard, with either a soft red or sweet dessert wine.
