Grana Padano PDO: a cheese almost 1,000 years in the making

When the monks of Chiaravalle Abbey made their first wheel of Grana Padano, right back in the 12th century, they must have been blown away by what they’d created. A firm cheese which lasts for ages, tastes incredible, represents the terroir of the Po Valley and can be produced year-round? There’s nothing more a cheesemaking monk could ask for.

Today, over 5 million wheels of Grana Padano are produced by around 128 factories every year, following strict guidelines, recipes and production methods to ensure any cheese bearing the Grana Padano branding lives up to its name. It’s a product that has been protected within Italy and throughout the EU via a PDO since 1996, ensuring no imitations. No other cheese can even include the name ‘grana’ (which refers to the ‘grainy’ texture of Grana Padano).

If you’ve ever seen an entire wheel of Grana Padano, you’ll know how impressive it is – a giant barrel-shaped cylinder covered in the instantly recognisable ‘firebrand’ given only to those wheels that pass a stringent series of checks. Even the very youngest wheels need to be aged for at least nine months, resulting in a cheese which is delicate, soft, milky and perfect for grating over pasta and other dishes. Age Grana Padano further, for 16-20 months, and it shines with that grainy texture and dried fruit flavour. Finally, those wheels deemed extra-special and aged for over 20 months bear the name Grana Padano PDO Riserva. These cheeses are packed with crunchy calcium crystals, a rich, fragrant flavour and an incredible granular texture.

Grana Padano is one of those unique products that is both incredibly delicious and recommended as part of a healthy diet. It takes 1.5 litres of milk to make 100g of Grana Padano, so it’s no surprise it’s a great source of calcium and vitamins A, B2 and B12. The ageing process means it is deemed lactose-free, so those intolerant to lactose can enjoy it. It’s often used in cooking as a replacement for salt, seasoning whatever other ingredients are on the plate in a more complex, umami-rich way. And it is, of course, packed with protein.

How to cook with it

Chicken and Grana Padano salad
What elevates this chicken salad from good to great is a double-whammy of Grana Padano. The cheese covers the skin of each chicken breast before they go in the oven, adding its unmistakable flavour and melting into the meat, before a handful of little batons adorn the dressed salad to take it to the next level. It’s one of those dishes that can be tweaked and adapted to whatever you have in the fridge – the simple dressing and Grana Padano matchsticks ensure everything on the platter tastes delicious.

Cod caponata with Grana Padano pangrattato
Combining cheese and fish can be a bit of a rarity in Italian cooking, but when it’s done right the pairing is out-of-this-world. Here a beautiful pearlescent piece of cod sits on a bed of caponata, a sweet and sour vegetable dish from Sicily. That tangy base is the perfect contrast to the salty Grana Padano, which is combined with fried breadcrumbs to add a deeply savoury crunch. Finished off with more shavings of the cheese to help season the dish in a far more delicious way than salt alone ever could, this is a bright, summery plate that’s packed with protein, veg and – of course – flavour.

Whether it’s on a cheeseboard, ready to be crumbled and enjoyed with figs and honey, or incorporated into a plethora of recipes (both Italian and international), Grana Padano is a world-class cheese.

Discover more delicious Grana Padano inspiration.