Grana Padano

Hard cooked-paste cheese produced from raw, partially skimmed cow's milk in a defined Po Valley area of Italy, registered as a PDO under file number PDO-IT-0011. The specification recognises three maturation categories — standard, Oltre 16 Mesi, and Riserva — and permits the use of lysozyme, distinguishing it from comparable Italian hard cheeses.

About this designation

Grana Padano is a hard cheese made from cooked paste, produced throughout the year, suitable for use whole or grated. The milk must be raw and partially skimmed, drawn from cows milked twice a day or by a robotic milking system with free cow traffic, and the cows' basic diet must consist of fresh or dried fodder. No less than 50 % of the dry matter of the daily ration must be made up of fodder, with a fodder-to-feed ratio of no less than 1 by dry matter. At least 75 % of the dry matter of the fodder in the daily ration must come from feed produced within the production area. Raw materials are limited to raw cow's milk, natural whey, and calf rennet. The cheese is cylindrical, with a diameter of 35 to 45 cm, a heel of 18 to 25 cm, and a weight of 24 to 40 kg; rind thickness is 4 to 8 mm. The minimum fat content of the dry matter is 32 %. Both production and maturing must take place within the delimited geographical area. The specification provides for two additional labelled categories: Oltre 16 Mesi and Riserva, the latter requiring maturation of at least 20 months after moulding. Authenticity is attested by a rhomboid mark bearing the words GRANA and PADANO, a casein nameplate carrying an alphanumeric code identifying each wheel, and, for Riserva, a circular brand affixed to the heel. The Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano, based in Desenzano del Garda, is the applicant group.

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

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 21 June 1996 under file number PDO-IT-0011, recorded in the EU register as EUGI00000012993.
• The specification mandates that at least 75 % of the dry matter of the fodder in the daily ration comes from feed produced within the production area.
• Cheese matured for at least 20 months after moulding within the production area may be designated Riserva, shown by a circular brand bearing the words OLTRE, 20, and MESI.
• Each wheel is identified by a casein nameplate bearing the words GRANA PADANO, the year of manufacture, and an alphanumeric code unique to that wheel.

Tasting notes

Po-valley aged cow's milk hard cheese (granular). Pale straw paste with characteristic granular texture, savory-sweet umami flavor with notes of fresh fruit and butter, less intense than Parmigiano Reggiano; multiple aging tiers (9-16 mo, 16-20 mo Riserva, 20+ mo Riserva).

HoReCa use

The specification notes that Grana Padano is used whole or grated, and that grating and related packaging must take place within the production area.

Packaging

• wheel-full-32-44kg
• wheel-half-16-22kg
• wedge-vacuum-1kg
• wedge-vacuum-500g
• wedge-vacuum-250g
• grated-pre-pack-100g
• shaved-tray-100g