From our editorial team
Cheese is big business in Italy: every Italian eats almost 16 kilos of cheese a year - and the trend is rising. Across Italy as a whole, around 960 million kilos of cheese are eaten - as much as 96 Eiffel Towers. According to the forecast by Statista Market Insights, turnover in the cheese market will be a good 12.5 billion euros in 2024.
The cheese segment includes various types, such as hard and soft cheese, semi-hard cheese, blue cheese, cream cheese and cottage cheese. What are the most popular types of cheese in Italy - this was the result of a survey a few years ago. Multiple answers were possible.
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The crown prince among Italy's cheeses
Grana Padano is a hard, grainy cheese from northern Italy that is one of the best-known and most popular cheeses in the world. It is often compared to Parmigiano Reggiano, but is less salty and not quite as intense. The cheese comes from the Po Valley from the edge of the western Alps to the Adriatic coast. It is the largest area to have been granted a protected designation of origin (DOP) by the EU to date. The name "Grano Padano" is derived from the granular structure of the cheese. ("grana" from the Italian "granuloso„) and of his origins in the Po Valley ("pianura padana" from Latin "padus" = Po) as of.
The history of the cheese dates back to the 12th century, when Cistercian monks in the abbey of Chiaravalle near Milan are said to have developed the cheese for the first time. The name "Grana" refers to the granular structure of the cheese, while "Padano" refers to the Po Valley, where it is produced using traditional methods. These include the use of copper vats and moulding the cheese mass into large wheels, which are later embossed with the Grana Padano logo. The cheese is matured for at least 9 months, but can also be matured for up to 24 months or longer, which intensifies and refines its flavour. The flavour of Grana Padano is mild and nutty, but becomes stronger and spicier with age.
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The first lady among Italy's cheeses
The silver medal goes to "Mozzarella di Bufalla", the second favourite cheese of the Italians. Made from water buffalo milk, following a special production process in which the cheese is formed at the end as if from threads. In the past, mozzarella was traditionally made in Campania, but today it is also made in other regions of southern Italy.
The name of the original, "Mozzarella di Bufala Campana" is protected in Italy. For this designation, the cheese must come from one of these areas: Campania (provinces: Caserta, Salerno, Naples and Benevento), Lazio (provinces: Latina, Frosinone and Rome), the province of Foggia in Puglia or the municipality of Venafro in Molise.
90 per cent of the protected mozzarella comes from the provinces of Caserta and Salerno in Campania.
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The King of Italy's Cheeses
In Italy, "Parmigiano Reggiano", the king of cheeses, is in first place. The Italians' favourite cheese! It has been produced in almost unchanged form for more than 800 years.
Only milk from cows from Emilia-Romagna may be used for the cheese king "Parmigiano Reggiano". The cows are only allowed to feed on fresh grass and hay, not on farm animal feed. It takes 13.5 litres of milk to make one kilo of Parmesan.
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The name "Parmigiano Reggiano" is protected. The original cheese may only be produced in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena and part of the provinces of Mantua and Bologna in the plains, hills and mountains between the rivers Po and Reno.
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Italy's TOP 10 cheeses
Multiple answers were possible in the Italian cheese survey.
1. Parmigiano Reggiano: 44 percent
2. Mozzarella di Bufala: 38 percent
3. Grano Padano: 37 percent
4. Gorgonzola: 31 per cent
5. Pecorino: 26 per cent
6. Crescenza/strecchino: 25 per cent
7. Cheese spread: 25 per cent
8. Asiago: 23 per cent
9. Mozzarella from cow's milk: 22 per cent
1o. Ricotta: 21 per cent
Source: Published by Statista 2022 (figures from 2020)
By the way: Italy does not eat all the cheese itself. 181,000 tonnes of cheese go abroad every year. The biggest customer is Germany, where just under 108,000 tonnes go.
The figures are from a survey conducted by the market research institute Doxa and published by Statista.
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Source: "Cheese industry in Italy - statistics and facts", statista 2022
