Raschera

Raschera is a full-fat pressed cheese made from cows' milk, with the possible addition of small quantities of sheeps' and/or goats' milk, produced and matured within the Province of Cuneo. It is made in either cylindrical or quadrangular form. Cheese produced and matured above 900 m in specified municipalities may carry the additional designation 'd'Alpeggio'.

About this designation

Raschera is produced and matured within the Province of Cuneo in its entirety. The milk must come from animals reared within that defined area, and holdings without land may not produce the cheese. The cattle, and where relevant the sheep and goats, must be fed mainly on green or conserved fodder, hay from meadows, pasture land, or meadow-pasture land, or hay from mixed-grass meadows, with the majority of that feed material coming from the defined geographical area. Liquid rennet is added to milk coagulated at a temperature between 27 °C and 36 °C. The cheese must be worked for a maximum of 7 days, properly pressed in cylindrical or quadrangular moulds, and dry-salted, normally twice; dry-salting may be preceded by salting in brine. The minimum maturation period is one month. Round Raschera weighs 5–9 kg with a diameter of 30–40 cm and a heel of 6–9 cm; square Raschera weighs 6–10 kg with sides of 28–40 cm and a heel of 7–15 cm. Fat in dry matter must be at least 32 %. The rind is not edible. At the time of marketing, each cheese receives a paper label and a branded mark bearing a stylised letter 'r' and a three-digit identification number of the dairy or maturer. Cheese using the term 'd'Alpeggio' carries a yellow halftone label and a stylised 'r' enclosing the letter 'a'. The designation is protected as a PDO, registered under file number PDO-IT-0023, and the producer group is the Consorzio Tutela del Formaggio Raschera DOP.

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-0023, eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013005.
• The square form, with sides of 28–40 cm, is distinct from the cylindrical form; both are permitted under the specification.
• Cheese produced and matured above 900 m in named municipalities including Ormea, Pamparato, and Frabosa Soprana may use the term 'd'Alpeggio'.
• Fat in dry matter must be at least 32 %, and the rind is explicitly stated to be not edible.

Tasting notes

Piedmontese cow's milk cheese (with possible sheep/goat addition) from Cuneo area. Aged 30-60+ days. Pale yellow paste with small eyes, soft yielding texture, mild grassy-milky flavor with delicate herbaceous notes; alpine d'Alpeggio sub-style is more intense.

HoReCa use

Sliced on Piedmontese cheese boards alongside Castelmagno; melted in fonduta; component of regional pasta dishes.

Packaging

• wheel-full-7-9kg
• wheel-half-vacuum-3kg
• wedge-vacuum-300g