Formaggi

Raw cow's milk from the high pastures of the Bitto valley in Lombardy. Aged up to ten years, one of Italy's rarest alpine cheeses.

Bra

Cow's milk from the province of Cuneo in Piedmont. Soft or hard, depending on age, made in the same hills as Barolo.

Calabria; Campania; Molise; Puglia; BasilicataDOP

Caciocavallo Silano

Stretched-curd cow's milk from southern Italy. The gourd-shaped cheese hung from a rope, made across Basilicata, Calabria, Campania and Puglia.

Canestrato di Moliterno

BasilicataIGP

Mixed sheep and goat's milk from the mountains of Basilicata. Aged in the natural caves of Moliterno.

Canestrato Pugliese

PugliaDOP

Hard sheep's milk from Puglia, basket-moulded and aged. The shepherds' cheese of the Tavoliere plain.

Casatella Trevigiana

VenetoDOP

Soft, fresh cow's milk from the Veneto lowlands. Stracchino-style, no rind, eaten within days.

Casciotta d’Urbino

MarcheDOP

Mixed sheep and cow's milk from the hills around Urbino in the Marche. Soft, mild, one of Italy's oldest named cheeses.

Castelmagno

Raw cow's milk from the high alpine pastures of the Grana valley in Piedmont. Blue-veined when aged, intense, and made above two thousand metres.

Fiore Sardo

SardiniaDOP

Raw sheep's milk from Sardinia, smoked. Hard, pungent, made by shepherds in the Sardinian interior since before records began.

Fontina

Aosta ValleyDOP

Raw cow's milk from the pastures of the Aosta Valley. Semi-soft, nutty, washed-rind, and the cheese that Fondue was invented for.

Emilia-Romagna; MarcheDOP

Formaggio di Fossa di Sogliano

Mixed milk cheese aged in the natural tufa pits of Sogliano al Rubicone in Emilia-Romagna. Three months underground, a flavour like nothing else.

Formai de Mut dell’Alta Valle Brembana

Raw cow's milk from the high pastures of the upper Brembana valley in Lombardy. Summer alpine cheese, made only above one thousand metres.

Gorgonzola

Piedmont; LombardyDOP

Cow's milk blue cheese from Piedmont and Lombardy. Dolce or piccante, the most famous Italian blue in the world.

Emilia-Romagna; Lombardy; Piedmont; Trentino-Alto Adige; VenetoDOP

Grana Padano

Hard cow's milk from the Po valley. Nine months minimum ageing, the everyday grating cheese of northern Italy.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia; VenetoDOP

Montasio

Cow's milk from Friuli Venezia Giulia and the Veneto. Semi-hard, two months to over a year, the cheese of the Julian Alps.

Monte Veronese

VenetoDOP

Cow's milk from the Lessinia mountains north of Verona. Whole or semi-skimmed, the cheese of the pre-Alps.

Campania; Lazio; Molise; PugliaDOP

Mozzarella di Bufala Campana

Fresh buffalo milk mozzarella from Campania and southern Lazio. Stretched-curd, eaten the day it is made, no substitutes.

Murazzano

Raw goat's milk cheese from the Langhe hills of Piedmont. Soft, delicate, from a breed of goat that nearly disappeared.

Emilia-Romagna; LombardyDOP

Parmigiano Reggiano

Hard cow's milk from Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Mantua and Bologna. Twelve months minimum, often thirty six. The king of cheese.

Pecorino di Filiano

BasilicataDOP

Raw sheep's milk from the pastures around Filiano in Basilicata. Aged in natural caves, hard, sharp, southern.

Tuscany; Lazio; SardiniaDOP

Pecorino Romano

Hard sheep's milk from Lazio, Sardinia and Grosseto. Eight months minimum ageing, the grating cheese of Rome and the south.

Pecorino Sardo

SardiniaDOP

Sheep's milk from Sardinia. Semi-hard, nutty, milder than Romano, the island's table cheese.

Pecorino Siciliano

Raw sheep's milk from Sicily. Hard, peppercorn-studded, aged at least four months, the oldest named cheese on the island.

Tuscany; Umbria; LazioDOP

Pecorino Toscano

Sheep's milk from Tuscany. Soft or semi-hard depending on age, the cheese of the Crete Senesi and the Val d'Orcia.

Piacentinu Ennese

Raw sheep's milk from Enna in central Sicily. Saffron-laced and peppercorn-studded, bright yellow, entirely unique.

Piave

VenetoDOP

Cow's milk from the Piave valley in the Veneto. Semi-hard to hard, six months to over a year, the cheese of the Dolomite foothills.

Provolone del Monaco

CampaniaDOP

Stretched-curd cow's milk from the Lattari mountains on the Amalfi coast. Aged at least six months, smoky, from a handful of producers.

Trentino-Alto Adige; Lombardy; Veneto; Emilia-RomagnaDOP

Provolone Valpadana

Stretched-curd cow's milk from the Po valley. Dolce or piccante, mild to sharp, the provolone that actually comes from its named zone.

Quartirolo Lombardo

Cow's milk from Lombardy. Soft, square, washed-rind, five to thirty days old. The stracchino with a protected name.

Ragusano

Raw cow's milk from the province of Ragusa in south-eastern Sicily. Stretched-curd, rectangular, aged on wooden boards.

Raschera

Cow's milk from the hills of Cuneo in Piedmont. Semi-soft, mild, pressed, the everyday cheese of the Langhe foothills.

Robiola di Roccaverano

Raw goat's milk from Roccaverano in the Langhe. Fresh and delicate, Italy's only goat-only DOP cheese.

Spressa delle Giudicarie

Trentino-Alto AdigeDOP

Semi-skimmed cow's milk from the Giudicarie valleys in Trentino. A low-fat alpine cheese, made from the milk left after skimming for butter.

Stelvio

Trentino-Alto AdigeDOP

Cow's milk from the Stelvio area of Alto Adige. Semi-hard, washed-rind, alpine, the cheese of the South Tyrolean pastures.

Lombardy; Veneto; PiedmontDOP

Taleggio

Cow's milk from Lombardy. Soft, washed-rind, square, pungent. The cheese that smells stronger than it tastes.

Toma Piemontese

Cow's milk from Piedmont. Semi-hard, mild, large wheels, the mountain cheese of the Piedmontese Alps.

Valle d’Aosta Fromadzo

Aosta ValleyDOP

Cow's milk from the Aosta Valley. Semi-hard, made with partially skimmed milk, herbs sometimes added to the curd.

Valtellina Casera

Cow's milk from the Valtellina in Lombardy. Semi-hard, low-fat, made from partially skimmed milk, the everyday cheese of the valley.

Vastedda della Valle del Belice

Stretched-curd sheep's milk from the Belice valley in western Sicily. Served warm, the only stretched-curd sheep cheese with DOP protection.