Bitto

Bitto is a raw, whole cow's milk cheese, permitted to include raw goat's milk up to a maximum of 10 %, produced exclusively during the alpine summer period from 1 June to 30 September in a defined mountainous area spanning Sondrio province and specified communes of Alta Valle Brembana and Lecco province. It is a full-fat, cooked cheese matured for a minimum of 70 days.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO under file number PDO-IT-1502, Bitto received EU protection on 2 July 1996 and is held in the EU register under identifier EUGI00000013382. The applicant body is the Consorzio per la tutela dei formaggi Valtellina Casera e Bitto. The specification requires that milk originate from cows grazing on mountain pastures within the defined geographical area, which comprises the whole of Sondrio province, nine named municipalities of the Alta Valle Brembana area in Bergamo province—Averara, Carona, Cusio, Foppolo, Mezzoldo, Piazzatorre, Santa Brigida, Valleve, and the mountain pastures Varrone, Artino, and Lareggio in the municipalities of Introbio and Premana in Lecco province. Production, processing, and maturing must all take place within this area. The cheese is cylindrical with a concave heel and sharp edges; faces measure between 30 and 50 cm in diameter, the heel is 8 to 12 cm high, and the wheel weighs between 8 and 25 kg. Fat content in dry matter is no less than 45 %, and water content at 70 days is on average 38 %. The rind is pale yellow, between 2 and 4 mm thick, darkening with age. Permitted raw materials are cow's milk, raw goat's milk not exceeding 10 %, calf rennet, salt, and indigenous enzymes. The dairy cows' pasture diet may be supplemented by up to a maximum of 3 kg of dry matter per day. Authenticity is confirmed by a heat-affixed label on the heel and, optionally, a paper disc of approximately 30 cm diameter on one face bearing the word 'BITTO' and the Community logo for Protected Designations of Origin. Producers meeting stricter pasture and processing conditions may additionally affix the name of the mountain pasture in bas-relief on the heel.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 2 July 1996 under file number PDO-IT-1502; EU register identifier EUGI00000013382.
• Production is confined to the alpine summer period from 1 June to 30 September; no other production window is permitted.
• Raw goat's milk may be added up to a maximum of 10 %; the specification permits no other milk type.
• The product may be used in grated form only after at least one year of maturing.

Tasting notes

Lombard alpine cow-and-goat milk cheese from Valtellina summer pastures, aged minimum 70 days. Straw-yellow paste, firm with small irregular eyes, rich intense aromatic flavor evolving from milky-grassy young to nutty-spicy when aged years.

HoReCa use

The specification states that the product may be used in grated form after at least one year of maturing.

Packaging

• wheel-full-8-25kg
• wheel-half-4-12kg
• wedge-vacuum-1kg
• wedge-vacuum-300g

Seasonality