Grana Padano DOP

Grana Padano PDO is a typical Italian cheese produced in places according to the production regulations. Grana Padano cheese is a PDO product that is made from raw cow's milk, partially de-skimmed, with natural outcrop and cooked paste. In order to ensure the high quality of the product, the production regulations require that the cows are fed a diet based on green or preserved fodder. It is believed that around the year 1135, the monasteries of the Cistercian monks were looking for a way to preserve cow's milk, which was present in quantities exceeding daily requirements. With a little experimentation and a few attempts, they tried to heat the milk and add rennet to it, and then subject the result to salting. They noticed that they had a hard cheese whose organoleptic characteristics improved as it matured. Initially, the cheese-makers called it 'cacio' or 'caseus vetus', i.e. 'old cheese', because, unlike other foods of the time, this product was suitable for maturing without deteriorating. This cheese was called grana" by people who were not familiar with the Latin language because of its consistency, a name that has survived to this day. "