Milk and milk derivatives, i.e. cheeses and dairy products, are foods with nutritional characteristics that are important because they provide easily absorbed calcium, excellent biological quality proteins and vitamins, especially from group B and A.

Cheese can be made from the milk of cows, sheep, goats or buffalo. The paste can be soft, hard or spun, and hard cheeses can be raw, cooked or semi-cooked. The varieties are virtually endless, including sweet, delicate products as well as extremely aromatic and piquant types.

Dairy products include important foods, such as yoghurt and ricotta, which feature heavily in the Italian diet.

All milk derivatives can be consumed directly as they are, or as ingredients for many delicious recipes.