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Half-fat cooked cows' milk cheese, maturing slowly, cylindrical in shape
with slightly convex or almost straight base with straight sides with a
slight edge, used as a table cheese or for grating.
Produced in the entire territory of the provinces of Alessandria, Asti,
Cuneo, Novara, Turin, Vercelli, Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Milan,
Pavia, Sondrio, Varese, Trento, Padua, Rovigo,
Treviso, Venice, Verona, Vicenza, Ferrara, Forli, Piacenza, Ravenna and
neighbouring communes in the province of Mantua and Bologna, forming a
continous area.
The cheese which originated long ago in Val Padana has always been well
known for its quality and the volume of cheese produced. Etymologically,
the name "Grana" refers to the peculiar morphological characteristics of
the curds, which are granular in texture. Historically, the name Grana
came to be used with adjectives referring to the Padana plain from where
the product came, which, in time, gave rise to a single geographical
name ("Padano").
The milk, left to stand and then partially skimmed, is coagulated by
adding calf's rennet, the curds are then broken up into fine granules
and scalded until the granules become elastic, then they are put into
moulds for at least 48 hours and then into brine; the natural maturing
phase in a suitable environment lasts for one to two years.
The natural factors are connected with the climatic conditions of the
production area, which lead to abundant production and high quality
fodder for dairy cows. As for the human factors, the intrinsic
characteristics of the cheese have remained largely unchanged over time,
due to the use of established techniques and the historical presence of
highly specialized labour.
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