GRANA PADANO PDO

DESCRIPTION, HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PDO
“Grana” cheese from the Po Valley was created around 1135 in the Abbey of Chiaravalle, south of Milan, by Benedictine monks, who developed an original recipe in order to use the excess milk produced in the area. They called it “caseus vetus”, which in latin means “old cheese”, due to its long ageing. The people called it simply “grana” due to its hard and grainy texture. The current name Grana Padano (“Padano” defines the area of production and literally means “from the Po River Valley”) dates back to the creation of the Protection Consortium on 10 April 1954. The recognition of the Protected Designation of Origin by the EU was given in 1996.
Grana Padano PDO cheese is produced exclusively with raw milk from the production area, from cows fed according to precise rules and milked twice a day or from cows milked with free access to an automatic milking system, partially skimmed by natural surfacing of the cream, and processed exclusively in copper or copper lined cauldrons, shaped like inverted bells, from each of which two wheels are obtained. Each cauldron is filled with around 1.000 litres of milk. A natural whey starter is added to the milk, then heated to a temperature of 31-33°C and calf rennet is added for coagulation.
Once the coagulation has occurred, the curd is chopped into small grains with a manual instrument called “spino” (like a giant whisk). Heating to a maximum of 56°C follows and then, after a resting period
of around an hour, the twin fresh wheels of cheese are collected, wrapped in linen cloths and placed into moulds, where they receive the initial typical marks: small lozenges with alternatively “Grana” and “Padano” written inside and all the other signs appearing on the crust except for the fire brand. Finally, before the ageing process begins, the wheels are soaked in brine for around 20 days.
The ageing process lasts for a minimum of 9 to over 24 months. At 9 months, each wheel is carefully tested for appearance, aroma and texture. This important step is carried out exclusively by the impartial expertise of the Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano (Protection Consortium) technicians, under the supervision of a third-party certifying body. Only the best wheels receive the fire-branded logo officially grading them GRANA PADANO DOP cheese.
Grana Padano DOP cheese is the world’s best-selling DOP cheese. Rich in nutrients and very digestible, it is an excellent and nutritional choice for the whole family. Grana Padano possesses unique nutritional features such as quality proteins, vitamins, minerals salts and especially calcium. Furthermore:
– it takes about 15 litres of naturally, partially skimmed milk to produce 1kg of Grana Padano PDO
– 100 g of Grana Padano contains 33g of proteins
–  30g of Grana Padano PDO contain the same nutritional value to approximately 0,5l of milk (1 pint)
–  50g of Grana Padano PDO provide more than 600mg of Calcium – 60% of the daily requirement for adults.
– it is naturally lactose free due to the production process and long ageing
– Find many delicious and tasty Grana Padano recipes on granapadano.it