Although they don't boast as much as the French, the Italians make over 400 cheeses.

What kind of cheese is it?

• a latte misto: mixed milk
• bufalino: buffalo milk
• caprino: goat milk
• pecorino: sheep milk
• vaccino: cow milk

How old is it?

• freschi (fresh cheeses), to be consumed within few days of production
• a maturazione breve, to be consumed within a month
• a maturazione media, to be consumed between 1 and 6 months of production
• a maturazione lenta, can be preserved for more than 6 months
• stagionato, a general term for aged cheese Some cheeses, such as Grana Padano, can be kept for far longer; a cheese over 20 months old becomes a Riserva. Vecchio and Stravecchio (extra old) are also used for cheeses such as Asiago.

How is it made?

• a crosta fiorita ('flowery' rind), where white mold forms on the crust (typical of the soft cheeses)
• a crosta lavata ('washed' crust), where the crust is periodically washed with brine (or wine or spirits, if it's ubriaco)
• a pasta cotta ('cooked'), where curd is cooked between 48 and 56 °C
• a pasta cruda (raw), where curd is not cooked
• a pasta filata ('stretched or pulled curd'), where the curds matures in hot whey, then kneaded, pulled and stretched by hand (mozzarella and fior di latte)
• a pasta pressata ('pressed curd'), where cheese forms are pressed to let the whey flow out before the crust is formed
• a pasta semi-cotta ('semi-cooked curd'), where curd is cooked at less than 48 °C
• erborinati (blue cheeses), where blue or green veins may develop

How hard is it?

• a pasta dura (hard), containing less than 40 % water
• a pasta semidura (semi-hard), containing between 40 % and 45 % water
• a pasta molle (soft), containing between 45 % and 60 % water

What's the fat content?

• grassi (fat), over 42 % fat (whole milk)
• semigrassi (semi-fat), between 20 % and 42 % fat (partially skimmed milk)
• magri (low fat), less than 20 %