Grana Padano DOP: cheese with intense, balanced flavor.

The Grana Padano DOP is a cheese that envelops you with its aromatic intensity and offers an indescribable tasting experience. Tasty and intense, it enhances every dish and transforms it into an unforgettable memory.
The name “Grana” comes from its grainy and compact texture, making it the most acclaimed hard cheese in the world. They have tried to imitate it, but the palate does not lie: there is only one Grana Padano DOP.

Immerse yourself in the history. It’s 1135, the reclamation of the lands crossed by the Po River reveals fertile soil, an opportunity for the flourishing of agriculture and traditions of good food. Thus, almost by chance, the Po Valley became the ideal cradle for a cheese with organoleptic properties that excite the palate.

How and where Grana Padano DOP is produced

Born from the skilled hands of the Cistercian monks of the Abbey of Chiaravalle, the Grana Padano DOP is a symbol of the wisdom of knowing how to wait. Because it is time that cradles the meeting of milk with rennet and salt, to give life to this precious, natural goodness.
The unique characteristics of the Grana Padano DOP are sought in the production method. Only fresh milk from cows fed with green or preserved fodder is placed in special basins to achieve a partial skimming through the rising of fat globules.
In respect of tradition, the milk is transferred to special conical-bottomed copper boilers, where the whey starter is added. Heated to about 33 degrees, the milk encounters the rennet and coagulates. The curd is subjected to cutting to form grains as small as rice grains.

After cooking at about 55 degrees, the agitation of the product is stopped and the grains aggregate and settle at the bottom of the boiler. Then, the curd is lifted with a ladle, extracted with a cloth, and divided into two molds weighing about 45 kilos each. The molds are placed into special molds to achieve the typical shape of the Grana Padano DOP. After about 3 days, the cheese meets salt through immersion in brine. Once the salting is completed and dried, the cheese begins its aging process: a slow and meditative wait.

The Grana Padano DOP is a cheese with protected designation of origin. Therefore, only the hard cheese deemed perfect can receive its mark. The production areas of Grana Padano DOP are regulated within well-defined boundaries. Thus, this typical product of the dairy tradition of northern Italy is represented by a Consortium for the Protection of Grana Padano DOP that brings together producers distributed in the areas of Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Trentino Alto Adige, and Piedmont.

Grana Padano DOP: aging and ingredients

The aging is the secret of Grana Padano DOP, so much so that the monks called it “caseusvetus”, meaning “old cheese”. It is a semi-fat hard cheese that needs at least nine months of waiting to be called “fresh”. The passing of the years gives the cheese different shades of flavor. The delicate taste becomes more intense and assertive, but never spicy.

Grana Padano DOP is renowned for its organoleptic properties and is universally recognized as “good and healthy”. It has a delicate and fragrant taste and aroma and is suitable for any dietary need and style: the perfect blend of nutrients. It contains proteins and essential minerals for health, such as magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium. Furthermore, it is also a source of vitamin B12. Completely free of carbohydrates and lactose, Grana Padano DOP is a food suitable for everyone.

The differences between Grana Padano DOP and Parmigiano Reggiano DOP

Grana Padano DOP and Parmigiano Reggiano DOP are two cheeses with peculiar characteristics. Both are cheeses with Protected Designation of Origin and appear similar, but they actually have substantial differences. Let’s see together where they meet and what makes them unique:

Both have origins that date back centuries, but the production area of Parmigiano Reggiano DOP is much more restricted: Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, and parts of the provinces of Mantova. Grana Padano DOP, on the other hand, is produced in farms located in 33 different provinces, including Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, and Trentino Alto Adige.
Parmigiano Reggiano DOP is produced entirely without additives, while Grana Padano DOP uses lysozyme, an extracted protein necessary to control fermentation.
The fodder for the cows includes the use of corn silage or fermented feeds for Grana Padano DOP, while in Parmigiano Reggiano DOP the fodder is exclusively hay and grass.
Parmigiano Reggiano DOP requires the first branding at 12 months. Grana Padano DOP is branded at 9 months, and the average consumption age is 15 months. Both require a prolonged aging, but while the longest aging for Grana Padano DOP is over 20 months, for Parmigiano Reggiano DOP it is over 30 months. However, it is possible to find both cheeses with longer aging.
They are cheeses produced using similar tools if not exactly the same, and the milk is collected for both twice a day. As for Grana Padano DOP, both mixed and separate milkings are skimmed. For Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, only one milking is skimmed. Therefore, milk used for the production of Grana Padano DOP has a lower fat content.
For both Grana Padano DOP and Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, the texture of the cheese must be finely grainy and broken into flakes. The external characteristics are similar for both, regarding shape geometry, dimensions, and weight.
In summary, we can say that these two cheeses are very similar, but they essentially differ in: aging, cow feeding, milking.

Is it better to choose Grana Padano DOP or Parmigiano Reggiano DOP?

Why deprive yourself of one or the other when you can bring to the table two extraordinary cheeses that will please all your guests?

Grana Padano DOP: table pairings

The Grana Padano DOP is suitable for accompanying various dishes, depending on the flavor characteristics that aging has conferred.
Perfect for enhancing first courses of meat or fish, ideal for your salads, the Grana Padano DOP aged from 9 to 16 months will not disappoint you. It’s the choice of a balanced and light taste that can accompany you even in your aperitif, with a good fresh wine.
The Grana Padano DOP aged over 16 months does not overpower the taste of your dishes, but enriches them by harmonizing different flavors. It is a cheese with a strong character, but never aggressive. It lends itself well to the preparation of omelets, savory pies, or fillings of meat and vegetables.
The aging over 20 months gives the Grana Padano DOP a flavor with a strong character. Ideal for tastings and pairings with balsamic vinegar, honey, jams, and mustards, or to make your platter of cured meats unique.
The Grana Padano DOP can accompany your dining experience from appetizer to closing course. It is the ideal cheese to transport food into a sensory dimension that awakens emotions.

Sergio Albertini