when the postman rings, in a foodblogger home it usually means there will be something tasty to eat this time i got samples of prosciutto di san daniele and grana padano since i have been to italy a lot with my parents when i was younger, i’ve known these products for a long time. i really love prosciutto and buy it regularly. but it has to be cut extremely thin, if the slices are too thick, the cured ham tastes different and i don’t like it anymore. very thin it practically melts in your mouth and unfolds its smoky aroma.

when it comes to cheese i am very picky and i only eat it if it basically doesn’t have much taste (eg mozzarella or feta, the latter being the most intense tasting cheese i eat😉 ) but when you cook italian eg pesto or ricotta gnocchi you have to use grana padano. and in small doses i do like the cheese with a good ciabatta.

last fall i was invited to an exclusive tasting of the 2 products. there i tried grana padano in its different stages of maturity. it’s incredible what a difference a few months make – the aroma is completely different. since it was kind of a private tasting with representatives of the companies, we had a very engaging and informative discussion about production, quality and indication of origin.

i knew that prosciutto di san daniele was a protected designation, but i was not aware that this also extends to grana padano. so only products adhering to the strict criteria and being produced at the right place of origin are allowed to use the logo of these brands.

if you want high quality, traditional italian products be actively on the lookout for the seal of quality. that way you can rely on steady quality and nothing stands in the way of a pleasureable, italian evening.

Filed under: misc Tagged: grana padano, misc, proscitutto di san daniele