My Kind of Food

Grana in Italian means ‘grain’ and when it comes to cheese it refers to the grainy texture of cheeses like Parmesan (not the sweepings from the factory floor and sold in the UK in cardboard tubes, but the real thing!).

Grana is a hard cheese and made in huge ‘wheels’ weighing between 24-40kg each

The Pianura Padana is the great flood plane of the River Po in Northern Italy and is the area where Grana cheese is made.  It was originally created by monks almost a millennium ago and by the 15thC was one of the most famous cheese in Italy.  Nowadays it is protected by EU law with a PDO (Protected Designation of Origine) classification and in Italy, since 1955 by a DOC (Dominazione di Origine Controllata).  Prior to 1955 Grana was known by various different names depending on where it was made. Grana Lodigiano, Grana Emiliano, Grana Lombardo and Grana Veneto were some of the variants.  Now though, the generic term Grana Padano is used.  Typically the cheese, made from cows milk,  is matured for 9 months (Grana Padano), over 16 months (Grana Padano oltre 16 mesi) or over 20 months (Riserva).  Each year about €750M worth of Grana Padano is exported around the world.

Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano) is matured for longer (up to 36 months) and is protected by its own DPO and DOC and has a more complex flavour structure than Grana Padano.  Its not correct, as some have reported that Grana Padano is an inferior product or is the cheese which doesn’t make the grade as Parmigiano Reggiano.
They are similar but distinct products.

Here in Lodi, in Lombardy, locally produced Grana Padano (Grana
Lodigiano, if you like) is used to create a local delicacy, Raspadura.  It is made by scraping a long flexible blade across the cut face of a Grana wheel in order to remove gossamer thin
shavings of cheese.  This works  especially well with the less mature cheeses (9months) and is eaten as a snack or with an aperitivo.