Grana Padano


Grana Padano is an Italian cheese originating in the Po Valley. It is similar to Parmesan but with less strict regulations governing its production. This hard, crumbly-textured cheese is made with unpasteurized cows' milk that is semi-skimmed. To preserve the authenticity of the manufacturing processes and raw materials used to make this cheese, Grana Padano was registered as a denominazione di origine controllata in 1955, and as a European Union protected designation of origin in 1996. Outside of the EU, its name is protected in several other countries based on the Lisbon Agreement and bilateral agreements.
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Etymology

The Italian word grana refers to its grainy texture, and the demonym padano means 'from Val Padana'.

History

Grana Padano was developed by monks of Chiaravalle Abbey in the 12th century. It can last a long time without spoiling, and is sometimes aged for up to two years. It is made in a similar way to the Parmesan of Emilia-Romagna, but over a much wider area and with different regulations and controls.
It has been traditionally produced in a number of territories throughout the Po Valley, including in Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Trento, parts of Emilia-Romagna, and some municipalities within the South Tyrol.

Production process

Like Parmesan, Grana Padano is a semi-fat hard cheese which is cooked and ripened slowly for at least nine months. If it passes quality tests, it is fire-branded with the Grana Padano trademark. The cows are milked twice a day. Milk produced in the evening is skimmed to remove the surface layer of cream and mixed with fresh milk produced in the morning. The partly skimmed milk is transferred into copper kettles and coagulated; the resulting curd is cut to produce granules with the size of rice grains, which gives the cheese its characteristic texture, and then warmed to. It is produced year-round, and varies seasonally as well as by year. Although similar to Parmesan cheese, the younger Grana Padano cheeses are less crumbly, milder, and less complex in flavour than the better-known, longer-aged Parmesan.
It is produced via lactic acid fermentation and a long, slow ripening process lasting 14-16 months. The addition of non-starter lactic acid bacteria is affected by the production process, and in turn affect the resulting microbiota that gives the cheese its typical characteristics. The production process differs from that of Parmesan in that cattle producing the milk may be fed high-quality silage. This "favors the contamination of raw milk by spore-forming clostridia". Lysozyme is added to the vats to prevent late blowing that may result from butyric fermentation, and is an anti-clostridial agent.
About 150 factories make Grana Padano in the Po Valley area, and an estimated 76,724 tons of this cheese are manufactured annually. About of milk yield of cheese.

Specifications

A wheel of Grana Padano is cylindrical, with slightly convex or almost straight sides and flat faces. It is in diameter, and high. It weighs 24 to 40 kg per wheel. The rind, which is thin, is pale yellow.
Grana Padano is sold in three different ripening stages:
  • "Grana Padano" : texture still creamy, only slightly grainy;
  • "Grana Padano oltre 16 mesi" : crumblier texture, more pronounced taste;
  • "Grana Padano Riserva" : grainy, crumbly, and full-flavoured.

Nutritional value and calories

1.5 litres of fresh, naturally partially-skimmed cows' milk from the production area, are needed to make 100 g of Grana Padano PDO cheese. The Grana Padano processing and ageing procedures determine an important bioavailability of vitamins and minerals, the supply of proteins with nine essential amino acids and make it a highly digestible product. In addition, Grana Padano is nearly lactose-free due to the characteristics of its production and ageing process, which also leads to a reduction of lipids. It contains a galactose content of less than 10 mg per 100 g.
The Grana Padano PDO Production Specifications regulate the entire production chain, from the cows' fodder to the branding of the wheels, therefore the average nutritional value and calories of Grana Padano PDO cheese remain stable and any variation in them is irrelevant for the purpose of defining a balanced diet.
Below is the nutritional table for a medium portion of 100 grams of Grana Padano: