Italian Cheeses

Mozzarella is a fresh, soft, stretched curd cheese, made with whole cow's milk. Due to the fact that it has a fragrant aroma of fresh milk and a delicate creamy flavor, mozzarella is traditionally paired with light white wines. This Italian classi... READ MORE

Ricotta is a fresh, soft cheese made from sheep's, cow's, goat's or Italian water buffalo's milk. Technically, it is not a cheese but a creamy curd made by reheating the whey, a byproduct of cheesemaking – hence the name ricotta... READ MORE

Considered to be among the world's top quality cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano is made with raw, semi-skimmed milk from cows grazing on fresh grass and hay. It has a hard, gritty texture and its flavors range from nutty to robust and slightly piquant... READ MORE

First produced in 879 CE in Gorgonzola, a Lombardian town settled just outside of Milan, this type of blue cheese is made with cow's milk and distinguished by green or blue marbling of mold. To induce blue veining, the milk is inoculated with peni... READ MORE

Mascarpone is a cheese from the Italian region of Lombardy, characterized by its very high fat content, ranging from 60% to 75%. Its texture can be smooth, creamy, or buttery, depending on the production process, while the flavors are lem... READ MORE

Burrata, literary meaning buttered, is an artisan cheese from the Puglia region of Southern Italy, especially the provinces of Bari and Barletta-Andria-Trani. The cheese is made by hand with cow's milk, rennet, and cream. It is b... READ MORE

Produced in the Aosta Valley since the 1100s, Fontina is a semi-cooked cheese traditionally made with raw cow's milk of the Valdostana Pezzata Rossa cattle breed. Depending on the length of maturation, the texture of Fontina can ... READ MORE

This semi-hard to hard cheese is available in two main varieties: the fresh Asiago Pressato and matured Asiago d'Allevo. Depending on the length of aging, d'Allevo is marketed as Mezzano (4-6 months), Vecchio (1... READ MORE

Scamorza is an Italian pasta filata cheese made with cow's milk. The cheese is shaped into two connected balls, one smaller than the other. Its texture is semi-soft, firm, and chewy, while the flavors are milky and smoky. These two balls ... READ MORE

This mild-flavored cow's milk cheese has a soft and creamy texture, a strong aroma, and a fruity flavor. Its thin rind ranges in color from rosy to orange, and as it ages, it might develop edible mold. Taleggio is made in square blocks and has a p... READ MORE

Bocconcini is an Italian cheese originating from Campania. It is a mozzarella-type cheese that is roughly the size of an egg, made with water buffalo's milk or a combination of buffalo's and cow's milk. These rindless small balls are semi... READ MORE

Stracchino di crescenza is an Italian cheese that is typically made with cow's milk, but it can also be made with water buffalo's milk. The texture of stracchino is creamy and buttery, so it's often used as a spread. The flavors are mild,... READ MORE

First produced in the 11th century by the Cistercian monks of the Santa Maria di Rovegnano Abbey in Chiaravalle Milanese, Grana Padano is known as one of the very few parmesan cheeses that can possibly compete with the far more famous READ MORE

Though there are many buffalo mozzarella cheeses made with a combination of buffalo and cow's milk, to be labeled as such, the genuine mozzarella di bufala campana must be made from 100% domestic water buffalo milk and produced either in ... READ MORE

This hard cooked cheese is made with whole milk from pasture-grazed sheep, and has a particularly salty and slightly piquant flavor. Aged for at least 5 months, Pecorino Romano makes an excellent table cheese, particularly when combined with fresh... READ MORE

Gorgonzola dolce is a traditional variety of Gorgonzola cheese. The cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk and it's left to age for at least 45 days before consumption. Underneath its natural moldy rind, the texture is creamy, with bl... READ MORE

Caprino is a goat’s milk cheese made throughout Italy - the name derives from the Italian word capra, meaning goat. There are two main varieties of caprino: fresco (fresh) and stagionato (aged). A fresh version is ... READ MORE

Provola is an Italian cheese that's essentially the smaller version of Provolone. The cheese is made from cow's milk and originates from Campania. This pasta filata cheese is typically immersed in brine, and some of the ... READ MORE

Produced exclusively on the island of Sardinia, Pecorino Sardo is a semi-cooked, hard cheese made with whole milk from the pasture-grazing Sarda sheep. This breed is indigenous to Sardinia, raised throughout Italy and considered to be amo... READ MORE

Back in the 15th century, when Pecorino production used to begin in spring, this Tuscan delicacy was called Cacio Marzolino, meaning March cheese. Nowadays, Pecorino Toscano is also produced in Lazio and Umbria, Tuscany'... READ MORE

This fat, soft to semi-hard cheese is made with unpasteurized cow's milk and marketed at different ripening stages. Montasio Fresco (aged between 2-3 months) is quite soft and has a delicate, creamy flavor. Montasio Mezzano (aged... READ MORE

Ricotta di bufala is an Italian cheese made from full-fat water buffalo's milk and the whey from mozzarella di bufala. The texture is firm, fluffy, creamy, and grainy. The aromas are rich and fresh, while the flavors are subtle a... READ MORE

Ricotta salata is the saltier, aged version of the famous fresh ricotta. This Italian cheese hails from Sicily and it's made from sheep's milk whey. The cheese is salted, formed into a wheel, then aged for about 3 months. The texture is c... READ MORE

Tomino is an Italian cheese originating from Piedmont. It is made from cow's milk and has a compact and soft paste on the interior that is pale yellow in color. The cheese is small and round. When fresh, it has a pleasant, milky aroma wit... READ MORE

Gorgonzola piccante is a traditional variety of Gorgonzola blue cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk. Underneath its natural moldy rind, the texture is crumbly and compact, with blue veins running throughout the paste. The aromas are s... READ MORE

Caciotta refers to a range of rural Italian cheeses from central Italy. They're made from cow's, ewe's, goat's, buffalo's milk, or any combination of those. The cheese has a thin rind which hides a creamy, smooth, and sem... READ MORE

Bel Paese is an Italian cheese originating from Lombardy. The cheese is made from cow's milk and has a pale yellow color. Its aroma is pleasant and milky, while the flavors are mild, buttery, and slightly sweet, often compared with mozzar... READ MORE

Stracciata is an artisan Italian cheese produced in Molise. It is made from cow's milk. The curd is cut or torn, and it is then stretched into ribbons that can be folded or braided. Although stracciata is usually snow-white, in spring and... READ MORE

Ricotta di pecora, or sheep milk ricotta, is produced in many Italian regions, and each cheese has a slightly different flavor. Sicilian ricotta is seasonal, the best one is made in the period from November till May when the ewes are feed... READ MORE

Stracciatella is a traditional cheese hailing from Puglia. This cheese is actually the inside of the burrata, made from shredded threads of mozzarella di bufala (sfilacci, made from water buffalo's milk) that are mixed with fresh... READ MORE

Ubriaco is a unique Italian cheese hailing from Treviso in the region of Veneto. The cheese is traditionally made from cow's milk. It is left to age, and during the last few months of aging, Ubriaco is soaked in dry and sparkling Prosecco... READ MORE

One of the oldest and most typical spun curd cheeses of Southern Italy, Caciocavallo Silano originated from the Sila Plateau, and the tradition of cheesemaking later gradually expanded along the Apennine mountain range. Produced in the re... READ MORE

Just as the name might indicate, Ragusano originates from the provinces of Ragusa as well as the neighboring Siracusa, and it is one of the oldest cheeses produced in Sicily, first mentioned in the early 1500s. This semi-hard cheese is ma... READ MORE

Dolcelatte is an Italian blue-veined cheese that was initially produced by the Galbani Company. The cheese is made from cow's milk and matures for 2 to 3 months. It's produced in the same way as Gorgonzola, but Dolcelatte is made from the... READ MORE

Certainly the finest and most well-known cheese of Valtellina valley, Bitto is a semi-hard or hard cheese, sold after it has been aged anywhere from 40 days to 3 years. The ancient production technique of this iconic Lombardian cheese dat... READ MORE

Cacioricotta is a cross between cacio (meaning cheese in the local dialect) and fresh ricotta, produced by combining two techniques of cheese-making. Originally hailing from the Apulian city of Salento, nowadays it is pr... READ MORE

Produced since the 1700s by the shepherds who lived on the Lattari Mountains, the largest milk production area around Naples and Vico Equense, Provolone del Monaco is a melon-shaped, semi-hard cheese made from raw cow’s milk. Since ... READ MORE

Caprino is a goat’s milk cheese made throughout Italy - the name derives from the Italian word capra, meaning goat. It the region of Molise, it is produced mainly around Montefalcone del Sannio, in the province of Campobasso. Made f... READ MORE

The origins of Provolone Valpadana date back to the early 1800s and the Unification of Italy, when people from the South started migrating towards the Po Valley and brought the tradition of dairy cattle farming and the technique for stret... READ MORE

One of the oldest cheeses produced in Europe, Pecorino Siciliano is a semi-cooked, hard cheese, made with raw, whole milk from various sheep breeds reared all across the island of Sicily. Easily distinguished by the reed woven basket patt... READ MORE

Ciliegine is a traditional type of mozzarella cheese. It consists of small and smooth white balls of mozzarella that's made with pasteurized cow's milk, or sometimes with water buffalo's milk. Ciliegine are just a bit smaller than bocconcini, anot... READ MORE

Ricotta di Bufala Campana is a product obtained through the processing of the 'first whey' (sweet) obtained in the cheese-making process which uses milk from the Mediterranea Italiana buffalo breed. The production area is within ... READ MORE