Cheese Database

Piave vs Vézzena

Piave

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Italy
Place
Veneto
Status
PDO

Piave is a cow's milk cheese from Italy, and the name is protected. It is a pressed cheese that ranges from supple and mild to hard and savory as it ages. Young pieces slice neatly for the table. Older pieces become dry enough to grate. Cooks and cheese boards both have a use for it, depending on the age of the wheel.

Vézzena

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Hard
Type
Pressed
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Italy
Place
Trentino

Vézzena is a pressed cow's milk cheese from Trentino, in northern Italy. Makers start with raw milk that has been partly skimmed, then cook and press the curd into a wheel. The paste is firm and becomes hard and granular as it ages. A natural rind turns from pale brown toward gray. Young wheels are for the table, and well-aged wheels are for the grater.