Italian Cheese at the Grocery Store: What to Buy and How to Cook with It

Most home cooks already use Italian cheese without thinking much about it. Parmesan goes on pasta. Mozzarella goes on pizza. Maybe some ricotta gets folded into lasagna. But the imported Italian cheese section at a store like Whole Foods contains far more than those basics. And understanding what's there can change the way you cook.

Italy has the largest variety of cheeses of any country in the world. There are over 2,500 traditional varieties, and more than 50 carry DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) status at the European level, meaning their names, regions, and production methods are legally protected. That's more than any other country. You won't find all 50 at your grocery store, of course. But you'll find enough to build an entire cooking repertoire around Italian cheese if you know what to look for.

This is the second article in our series on imported cheeses at the grocery store. The first covered the fundamentals of navigating the cheese case. This one gets specific.

The Two Hard Cheeses You Need to Know

If you buy only two Italian cheeses, make them Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano. They serve different purposes and show up in different recipes. Knowing when to reach for each one will improve your cooking immediately.

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Parmigiano-Reggiano is made in a limited area of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy – the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna (west of the Reno River), and Mantua (east of the Po River). The Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano, founded in 1928, oversees every aspect of production. Each wheel contains only raw cow's milk, salt, and calf rennet. No additives.

The cheese must age for a minimum of 12 months before the Consortium inspects it. An expert taps each wheel with a small metal hammer, listening for inconsistencies in density that would indicate internal defects. Wheels that pass receive the DOP fire brand on the rind. Those that don't get their markings scraped off and sold as generic grana cheese. Most Parmigiano-Reggiano on the market has aged 24 to 36 months, though wheels aged 40 months or longer are available.

About 3.6 million wheels are produced each year, consuming roughly 18 percent of all milk produced in Italy.

What to look for at the store: Buy wedges, not pre-grated. Check the rind for the dotted "Parmigiano-Reggiano" text and the DOP stamp. If the rind is smooth and unmarked, it may be from a wheel that failed inspection. It could still taste fine, but it's not the same quality tier.

How to use it: Grate it over pasta, risotto, soups, and salads. Shave chunks to eat with honey or balsamic vinegar. Drop the rind into simmering soups, broths, or bean dishes to add body and umami. The rinds are edible and will soften over long cooking. Save them in a bag in the freezer until you need them.

During the first 48 hours of production, lactic bacteria convert all lactose in the cheese into lactic acid. This makes Parmigiano-Reggiano naturally lactose-free, which is useful to know if you're cooking for someone with a sensitivity.

Parmigiano-Reggiano vs. Grana Padano

Grana Padano often sits right next to Parmigiano-Reggiano at the store, usually at a lower price. Both are hard, granular, aged cow's milk cheeses from northern Italy with DOP status. Both work as grating cheeses. They look similar. So what's the difference?

The production area for Grana Padano is much larger, spanning parts of Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Emilia-Romagna. The cows that produce milk for Grana Padano can eat a broader diet, including peas, corn, and millet. Parmigiano-Reggiano cows eat primarily grass and hay from their specific region.

Grana Padano ages for a minimum of nine months, compared to 12 for Parmigiano-Reggiano. Most Grana Padano is consumed around 15 months, while Parmigiano-Reggiano typically hits the market at 24 months. The result is that Grana Padano is generally milder, slightly creamier, and less sharp than a comparably sized piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

When to choose Grana Padano: When you want a more subtle background flavor, when cheese cost is a factor in a large batch recipe, or when you're grating into a dish where a dozen other ingredients are competing for attention. Grana Padano is a different cheese with its own strengths.

When to choose Parmigiano-Reggiano: When the cheese is the star. Shaved over a simple salad, grated into cacio e pepe, or eaten in chunks as a snack. The longer aging gives it more intensity and complexity.

Pecorino Romano

Pecorino Romano is a hard, salty sheep's milk cheese. Despite its name, most of it is now produced in Sardinia rather than the area around Rome, though it still carries DOP status. About 70 percent of Pecorino Romano is exported, with the United States as the primary destination.

It is sharper and saltier than Parmigiano-Reggiano. That salinity is part of its purpose. In Roman pasta dishes like cacio e pepe, carbonara, and amatriciana, Pecorino Romano is the traditional cheese. Using Parmigiano-Reggiano instead produces a different (and less authentic) result.

How to use it: Grate it into Roman-style pasta sauces. Crumble it over roasted vegetables. Mix it with breadcrumbs for a crust on baked dishes. Because it's so salty, you may need less additional salt in whatever you're cooking. When a recipe calls for "Pecorino," it usually means Pecorino Romano, though Italy produces several regional pecorinos including Pecorino Toscano (milder, younger) and Pecorino Sardo (from Sardinia, varying in age).

Fresh Italian Cheeses

Mozzarella: Three Versions, Different Uses

The word "mozzarella" covers several different products, and mixing them up in recipes leads to poor results.

Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP is made from the milk of water buffalo raised in designated areas of Campania, Lazio, Apulia, and Molise. It has DOP status. The milk has more protein, fat, and calcium than cow's milk, so the cheese is creamier, tangier, and richer. It's sold in liquid (brine or whey) and should be eaten within a day or two. It releases a lot of moisture when cut or heated. Use it for Caprese salads, on top of pizza after baking, or with fresh tomatoes and basil. It's best at room temperature.

Fior di latte is fresh mozzarella made from cow's milk. In Campania, where mozzarella originated, only buffalo milk mozzarella is called "mozzarella." Cow's milk mozzarella is "fior di latte" ("flower of the milk"). It's milder, less tangy, and firmer. It melts more evenly and releases less moisture. For Neapolitan-style pizza, fior di latte is the traditional choice over buffalo mozzarella. In the U.S., this is often labeled "fresh mozzarella."

Low-moisture mozzarella is the packaged, block-style mozzarella most Americans know. It's engineered for shredding and melting. It works well on American-style pizza and in baked pasta dishes. It is not the same product as Italian mozzarella and shouldn't be used in place of it when a recipe calls for fresh mozzarella or mozzarella di bufala.

Burrata

Burrata is a pouch of fresh mozzarella filled with stracciatella, shredded mozzarella curds mixed with cream. It was created in Puglia in the 1950s. Burrata di Andria holds PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status. When you cut into a ball of burrata, the creamy interior spills out.

How to use it: Serve it at room temperature with good bread, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Put it on top of pizza or pasta after the dish comes out of the oven. Pair it with roasted peppers, prosciutto, or fresh tomatoes. Don't cook burrata. Heat ruins the contrast between the outer shell and the cream inside.

Ricotta

Ricotta is technically not a cheese. It's made by reheating the whey left over from other cheesemaking. ("Ricotta" means "recooked.") Most ricotta sold at American grocery stores is domestically made from cow's milk and does the job for baking and stuffed pastas. If you can find imported Italian ricotta, particularly sheep's milk ricotta, the texture is lighter and the flavor more nuanced.

How to use it: Fill ravioli, manicotti, and cannoli. Spread it on toast with honey. Stir it into pasta with lemon zest and black pepper. Mix it into pancake batter for fluffier pancakes. Bake it into cheesecake. Ricotta-based cheesecake is lighter than the cream cheese kind.

Semi-Soft and Washed-Rind Cheeses

Fontina

Fontina Val d'Aosta DOP comes from the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps. It's a semi-soft cow's milk cheese with a nutty, buttery flavor. It melts smoothly, which makes it a good choice for fonduta (the Italian version of fondue), polenta toppings, and baked dishes. Swedish and Danish Fontina exists, but it's a different product with a milder flavor and more rubbery texture.

Taleggio

Taleggio is a washed-rind cheese from Lombardy that dates back to at least the 10th century. It has a strong smell and a surprisingly mild, fruity, slightly tangy flavor. The rind is edible. It melts well and works in risotto, on polenta, in panini, or on a cheese board paired with walnuts and honey.

Provolone

Provolone Valpadana DOP comes in two styles. One is dolce, which is mild and aged up to two to three months. The second is piccante, which is sharp and aged a minimum of three months, sometimes over a year. Provolone dolce is smooth, mild, and good for sandwiches. Provolone piccante is firmer, tangier, and works well grated or in baked dishes. The cheese is a pasta filata type, meaning the curds are stretched in hot water during production.

Blue Cheese

Gorgonzola

Gorgonzola DOP is produced in Lombardy and Piedmont from cow's milk. It comes in two styles:

Gorgonzola Dolce is young, creamy, and mild. The blue veining is present but gentle. It works as a spread on bread, stirred into pasta sauces for creaminess, or on a cheese board with fruit.

Gorgonzola Piccante is aged longer, resulting in a firmer, crumblier texture and a sharper, more pungent flavor. It's better for crumbling over salads, melting into a steak sauce, or pairing with robust red wines.

A little Gorgonzola goes a long way in cooking. Melt Dolce into a cream sauce for gnocchi. Crumble Piccante over roasted pears with walnuts.

Building Your Italian Cheese Pantry

You don't need to buy everything at once. Here's how to build up gradually:

Start with two: A wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh mozzarella (fior di latte or buffalo mozzarella). These cover the most Italian recipes. The Parmigiano-Reggiano will last weeks in the fridge if stored properly. The mozzarella needs to be used within days.

Add Pecorino Romano when you're ready to cook Roman-style pastas. It keeps well and a small wedge lasts a long time because you use less of it, due to its saltiness.

Bring in a melting cheese like Fontina for baked dishes, or Taleggio if you want something more adventurous on your cheese board.

Try Gorgonzola Dolce when you want to experiment with blue cheese in a gentle way. Its creaminess makes it less intimidating than other blues.

Explore burrata when you find a good source. Because it's so perishable, quality depends on freshness. A burrata that's been sitting in the case too long will taste flat and dense. A fresh one will change the way you think about cheese.

A Note on "Parmesan" and Italian-Sounding Cheese

In the European Union, the name "Parmesan" legally refers only to Parmigiano-Reggiano. A 2008 EU court ruling confirmed this. In the United States, that protection doesn't apply. Domestic cheese labeled "Parmesan" can be made anywhere, from any milk, using any process. The green canister of pre-grated "Parmesan" is a processed product that bears little resemblance to the original.

This isn't limited to Parmesan. Italian-sounding names appear on cheeses that have no connection to Italy. Look for the DOP label and check the country of origin if authenticity matters to you. It's the most reliable shortcut to quality. And once you taste the difference, you'll understand why the Italians went to the trouble of protecting these names in the first place.