Montasio

Montasio is a cooked cow's-milk cheese produced across Friuli-Venezia Giulia and defined parts of Veneto, made from unpasteurised milk and matured for a minimum of 60 days. Four commercial classifications — fresco, mezzano, stagionato and stravecchio — correspond to progressively longer minimum maturing periods set in the specification. Pasteurisation of the milk is expressly prohibited.

About this designation

Montasio is a cylindrical cheese with a straight or almost straight heel and flat or slightly convex sides, produced from unpasteurised cow's milk using only natural lactic bacteria or authorised starter cultures. The geographical production area comprises the whole of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and, in Veneto, the entire provinces of Belluno and Treviso together with defined parts of the provinces of Padua and Venice, bounded in part by the A4 motorway and the Brenta river. The main breeds reared in the area are Brown Swiss, Italian Red Pied and Black Pied, and their cross-breeds. The cows' feed must comprise at least 60 % raw cereals, dry and green fodder and silage, and at least 60 % of the total feed must come from the geographical area. After a minimum of 60 days of maturing, the cheese must have a moisture content at or below 36.72 % and a fat content over dry matter of at least 40 %, with a weight of 6–8 kg, a diameter of 30–35 cm and a heel of at most 8 cm. Four classifications are defined by minimum maturing periods: fresco at 60 days, mezzano at 120 days, stagionato at 10 months and stravecchio at 18 months. Each wheel is marked in the mould with the producer's code, provincial acronym and production date. Where the entire production process takes place in areas qualifying as mountainous under national legislation, the label 'prodotto della montagna' may be used and the letters PDM are impressed on the heel.

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-0012; eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012994.
• Pasteurisation of the milk is expressly prohibited; no temperature treatment is authorised except cooling to a minimum of 4 °C.
• Four maturing classifications are defined: fresco (minimum 60 days), mezzano (minimum 120 days), stagionato (minimum 10 months) and stravecchio (minimum 18 months).
• Where production takes place entirely in areas qualifying as mountainous under national legislation, the acronym PDM is impressed on the heel of the cheese.

Tasting notes

Friulian cow's milk cheese in three aging tiers. Fresco (60-120 days): straw paste, mild sweet milky. Mezzano (5-10 mo): firmer, more savory with grassy notes. Stagionato (10+ mo): hard granular, intense umami-savory with piquant edge.

HoReCa use

Fresco melted in Frico friulano; Mezzano on cheese boards; Stagionato grated over polenta and Friulian gnocchi; classic with prosciutto di San Daniele.

Packaging

• wheel-full-6-8kg
• wheel-half-3-4kg
• wedge-vacuum-500g
• wedge-vacuum-250g
• grated-pre-pack-100g