1. Mozzarella

- one of the most famous and widely spread types of fresh Italian cheese. Authentic Mozzarella is actually made from buffalo milk (hard to find outside of Italy!), and has an attractive white hue. Its taste is mild and the texture is soft and chewy. Mozzarella is the key ingredient for countless recipe versions of Italian pizza and lasagna.

2. Gorgonzola

- a creamy blue cheese that originates from Lombardy. It comes in two kinds: gorgonzola mountain - with a sharper taste and gorgonzola dolce - a sweeter cheese that goes great with fruit and desserts. Although gorgonzola has a mild flavour when young, it gets stronger with maturity. Celery sticks filled with a mixture of gorgonzola mountain and cream cheese are great for picnics and pair beautifully with white Italian wines. You can also put this flavourful cheese on top of grilled polenta and enjoy it with a hot stew or a soup.

3. Mascarpone

- a rich, triple-cream cheese with a mild flavour. Mascarpone is often used in desserts as a substitute for whipped cream.

4. Parmesan

- a long-aged, full flavoured cheese with a hard rind. Parmesan is famous all over the world and is used for both grating and eating in slivers. Large wheels of the cheese are aged 2 - 3 years to mature and bring the flavour to its height! Fresh Parmesan is superb and is incomparably better than the grated, preserved supermarket varieties sold in packaged portions.

5. Scamorza

- made from fresh, unpasteurized cow’s milk. It has a distinctive shape because it is hung from a string during aging. In Italy, scamorzais typically served with fruit at the end of the meal.

6. Pecorino

- made from ewe’s milk and comes in two main varieties - Pecorino Romanoand Pecorino Toscano. This salted, sharply flavoured cheese is widely used for grating when mature and for eating with desserts.

Famous and delicious, Italian cheese **can also be a great gift for your friends and family! **Italian Cheese Gift Baskets along with picnic baskets with great cheeses and other yummy goodies are available in most Italian stores - online ones as well!