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Grana is a type of hard, mature cheese from Italy with a granular texture, often used for grating. Grana cheeses are typically made in the form of large wheels. The structure is often described as crystalline, and the wheels are divided by being split with a fairly blunt almond-shaped knife designed for the purpose, rather than being sliced, cut or sawn. Within the European Union the term grana is legally protected by Grana Padano protected designation of origin (PDO); only Grana Padano may be sold using the term in EU countries. [1]
The two best-known examples of grana-type cheeses are Parmesan and Grana Padano. The two cheeses are broadly similar, with the latter being less sharp, crumbly and grainy.
The main difference between the two is that cows producing Parmesan eat only grass and cereals—no silage, no preservatives, and no antibiotics. Cows that have been treated with antibiotics are suspended from production of Parmesan and Grana Padano. Silage is a fermented forage that requires the addition of a natural preservative (lysozyme) to Grana Padano. Feeding of silage and addition of lysozyme are forbidden in production of Trentingrana and Parmesan. [2]
Other grana cheeses include:
Grana cheeses typically contain cheese crystals, semi-solid to gritty crystalline spots that at least partially consist of the amino acid tyrosine.
Grana originally described a type of hard cheese from the Po Valley (Val Padana), in northern Italy, with a distinctive granular texture—the word grana in Italian means 'grain'. [3]
Pecorino romano is a hard, salty Italian cheese made from sheep's milk, often used for grating over pasta or other dishes. The name pecorino simply means 'ovine' or 'of sheep' in Italian; the name of the cheese, although protected, is a description rather than a brand: [formaggio] pecorino romano simply means 'sheep's [cheese] of Rome'.
Pecorino is an Italian hard cheese produced from sheep's milk. The name pecorino derives from pecora, which means 'sheep' in Italian.
Parmesan is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cow's milk and aged at least 12 months or, outside the European Union and Lisbon Agreement countries, a locally produced imitation.
Asiago is a cow's milk cheese, first produced in Asiago in Italy, that can assume different textures according to its aging, from smooth for the fresh Asiago to a crumbly texture for the aged cheese. The aged cheese is often grated in salads, soups, pastas, and sauces while the fresh Asiago is sliced to prepare panini or sandwiches; it can also be melted on a variety of dishes and cantaloupe. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese.
Buffalo mozzarella is a mozzarella made from the milk of the Italian Mediterranean buffalo. It is a dairy product traditionally manufactured in Campania, especially in the provinces of Caserta and Salerno.
Grana Padano is a cheese originating in the Po Valley, in northern Italy. It is similar to Parmesan but with less strict regulations governing its production. This hard, crumbly-textured cheese is made with unpasteurized cows' milk that is semi-skimmed. To preserve the authenticity of the manufacturing processes and raw materials used to make this cheese, Grana Padano was registered as a denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) in 1955, and as a European Union protected designation of origin (PDO) in 1996. Outside of the EU, its name is protected in several other countries based on the Lisbon Agreement and bilateral agreements.
Balearic cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine as cooked in the Balearic Islands, Spain. It can be regarded as part of a wider Catalan cuisine, since it shares many dishes and ingredients with Catalonia and the Valencian Community. Others view it as part of a more global Spanish cuisine. Traditional Balearic cuisine is rich in vegetables, cereal and legumes as well as being low in fats. A succinct selection of the primary dishes would be ensaimades, seafood and vegetable stews, sobrassada, coques, tombet, Maó cheese and wine.
Caprino is an Italian cheese traditionally made from whole or skimmed goat's milk. The name of the cheese derives from the Italian word for goat, capra. With modern methods of production, the cheese is made from cow's milk as well or a combination of both cow's and goat's milks. The two major styles of caprino are fresco ("fresh") and stagionato ("aged").
Granular cheese, also known as stirred curd cheese and hard cheese, is a type of cheese produced by repeatedly stirring and draining a mixture of curd and whey. It can refer to a wide variety of cheeses, including the grana cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano and various others.
There are many different types of cheese, which can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as: length of fermentation, texture, production method, fat content, animal source of the milk, and country or region of origin. These criteria may be used either singly or in combination, with no method used universally. The most common traditional categorization is based on moisture content, which is then further narrowed down by fat content and curing or ripening methods.
The Abbey of Santa Maria di Rovegnano is a Cistercian monastic complex in the comune of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. The borgo that has developed round the abbey was once an independent commune called Chiaravalle Milanese, now included in Milan and referred to as the Chiaravalle district.
Pecorino toscano is a firm-textured ewe's milk cheese originating in the Tuscany region of Italy. Since 1996 it has enjoyed protected designation of origin (PDO) status.
Valtellina Casera is a cheese made from semi-skimmed cows' milk in the northern Italian province of Sondrio. Its origins date back to the sixteenth century and it is much used in the cuisine of the Valtellina: particularly in dishes based on buckwheat flour such as pizzoccheri and sciatt.
Swiss-type cheeses, also known as Alpine cheeses, are a group of hard or semi-hard cheeses with a distinct character, whose origins lie in the Alps of Europe, although they are now eaten and imitated in most cheesemaking parts of the world. Their distinct character arose from the requirements of cheese made in the summer on high Alpine grasslands, and then transported with the cows down to the valleys in the winter, in the historic culture of Alpine transhumance. Traditionally the cheeses were made in large rounds or "wheels" with a hard rind, and were robust enough for both keeping and transporting.
Silter is an Italian hard cheese made within the Lombardy region, around province of Brescia and surrounding areas, and traditionally produced with unpasteurised cows milk during summer months and September, is brined, and aged for a minimum of 6 months.
A Parmesan knife or grana knife is a knife with a teardrop-shaped blade and a round wooden handle, used to break hard cheeses such as grana or Parmesan into shards. Bigger knives with a flat handle that can be hammered are used to cut open the cheese wheels, the crusts of which are rather hard.
Pizza quattro formaggi or pizza ai quattro formaggi is a variety of pizza in Italian cuisine that is topped with a combination of four types of cheese, usually melted together, with or without tomato sauce. It is popular worldwide, including in Italy, and is one of the iconic items from pizzerias' menus.
Raspadüra is a way to serve grana cheese, presenting it as very thin sheets, scraped with a special knife from a wheel of Granone Lodigiano or from a "young" cheese of the grana family, that is aged from four to six months.
Argentine cheese is by far the most produced dairy product in the country, making Argentina the second largest cheese producer in Latin America and among the top 10 cheese-producing countries in the world. In addition, Argentina is the Latin American country that consumes the most cheese, with 12 kilos per capita per year. Production is mainly centered in the provinces of Córdoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, in the Pampas region of the central and east-central parts of the country.