Piave

Piave is a pasteurized cow's milk cheese named after a river by the same name. It is DOP protected, and the only authentic Piave is produced in the Dolomites area of Belluno province of Veneto and is also called Parmesan's Cousin due to apparent similarities in flavour. Piave is a hard, cooked curd cheese sold at five different maturation periods. As a thumb's rule, Piave is dense in texture without any open holes.

Piave is available in 5 different varieties:
Piave Fresco (aged for 20 to 60 days - blue label)
Piave Mezzano (aged for 61 to 180 days - blue label)
Piave Vecchio (aged for more than 6 months - blue label)
Piave Vecchio Selezione Oro (aged for more than 1 year - red label)
Piave Vecchio Riserva (aged for more than 18 months - black label)

The colour of the pate is white in Fresco, and it turns straw-coloured as the cheese matures. A sweet taste intensifies with ageing. The rind is soft and clear when fresh and becomes hard and brownish colour with ageing.