🧀 Squacquerone di Romagna

Squacquerone di Romagna is a soft Italian cheese with a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), made from whole cow's milk and maturing rapidly. It was entered in the EU register by Regulation (EU) No 679/2012; non-minor amendments to the specification were approved by Regulation (EU) 2018/265.

Milk. Whole cow's milk from cattle reared in the production area. At least 60% of the dry matter of the cows' ration must be forage and silage of legumes and grasses grown in the area, supplemented with feed. Milk production and processing take place in the area.

Making. Fermentation is started with natural cultures of native Streptococcus thermophilus biotypes, developed in fermenters in the area from local milk. Cheesemaking times vary with the season: longer in winter and shorter in summer.

Cheese. It weighs 0.1–2 kg. It is mother-of-pearl white and has no rind or crust; it has no distinct shape, as its very creamy texture takes the shape of the container. Fat is 46–59% of dry matter, water 58–69% and pH 4.75–5.35. The taste is pleasant, sweet, slightly acidic and subtly salty; the aroma is delicate, with a distinctive milky note and a grassy note; the consistency is soft, creamy, sticky, runny and highly spreadable.

Packaging and labelling. The cheese must be packaged in the production area, because without a rind it is 100% edible and particularly exposed to contamination. The primary packaging is food-grade paper or other suitable containers. It is kept at 0–6 °C and the maximum storage temperature is shown on the label. The packaging bears the words Squacquerone di Romagna — Denominazione d'Origine Protetta (or DOP), the EU logo, and the name and address of the producer or packager.

Squacquerone or a spreadable cream cheese? Squacquerone di Romagna is an Italian PDO cheese from whole cow’s milk that matures very quickly. It has no rind and no fixed shape: it is soft, creamy, sticky and runny, so it takes the shape of its container. Cheesemaking times change with the season, longer in winter and shorter in summer. Its taste is sweet, slightly acidic and subtly salty, with a milky and grassy aroma.

Look for the words “Squacquerone di Romagna” with “Denominazione d’Origine Protetta” or DOP, the Italian form of the EU PDO (protected designation of origin), and the EU logo. The pack must also show the name and address of the producer or packager and the maximum storage temperature. It is sold in paper or small tubs at delicatessens and cheese counters in Emilia-Romagna and beyond.

Area. The provinces of Ravenna, Forlì-Cesena, Rimini and Bologna and part of the province of Ferrara, bordered on the west by trunk road No 64 (Porrettana) and on the north by the River Po.