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DOP (PDO) products and acronyms

DO Denominazione di Origine (Appellation of Origin)

DOC Denominazione di Origine Controllata (Controlled Designation of Origin)

DOCG Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (Controlled Designation of Origin Guaranteed). Some 73 Italian wines are given this lofty mark of quality.

DOP Denominazione di Origine Protetta (PDO, or Protected Designation of Origin)

DPR Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica (Presidential Decree)

DPCM Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio (Prime-ministerial Decree)

IGP Indicazione Geografica Protetta (Certification of region of origin, an EU designation)

IGT Indicazione Geografica Tipica (Certification of regional character, invented for the Super Tuscan wines in the 1990s)

PAT Prodotti Agro-alimentari Tradizionali (Traditional Agricultural Product)

PDO Protected Designation of Origin

acciughe

anchovies

aceto/aceto balsamico

vinegar, and a very special vinegar

amaro

bitter digestivo

Amarone

passito wine from the Veneto

anello di Monaco

glazed ring of sweet bread

arancia rossa

blood orange

Arquebuse

herbal digestivo flavoured with tansy

Asiago

cow's milk cheese

basilico

basil

batsoa

breaded trotters

Bettelmatt

Cow's milk cheese from the Walser valleys

bicciolani

spicy biscuits from Vercelli

Bitto

beloved cheese from the Valtellina

bocconcini

'little mouthfuls'

boudin

spicy blood and beetroot sausage

Bra

Cow's milk cheese

Branzi

whole cow's milk cheese from the Bergamo valleys

bresaola

air dried salt beef

brovada

pickled turnips

cacciatorini

dried pork and beef or wild boar salame

Caciocavallo

hanged sheep or cow's milk cheese

caldaro dell'Argentario

Fish soup

Casatella Trevigiana

soft 'homemade' cow's milk cheese

casciotta

Renaissance cheese

castagna

chestnut

Castelmagno

The 'King of Cheeses'

Casu Axedu

Sardinian cheese, sometimes with maggots

Cerignola

large mild green olive

ciauscolo

paté sausage

cinta senese

Tuscan swine

cipolla

onions

cipollotto

spring onion (green onion, or scallion)

Classico

the historic classification

coppa

a spicy salame—or a cup

coppia ferrarese

twisted sourdough bread

crespone

old-fashioned salami

Crudo di Cuneo

prosciutto from Piedmont

cruschi

dried red chilis

culatello

choice 'little bum' ham

cuzzupa

sweet Easter bread

Elvezia

The 'Swiss' cake of Mantua

fagioli

beans, beans, beans and more beans

farro

spelt, emmer or einkorn (primitive wheat)

finocchini

toasted biscuits with fennel seeds

fiocchetto

culatello's 'little brother'

Fiore Sardo

Sardinian sheep cheese

focaccia

flat bread, usually

Fontina

Aosta's famous cheese

formaggella

little goat cheeses

Formaggio di Fossa

pit cheese

Formai de Mut

Mountain cheese from the Valle Brembana

Fungo di Borgotaro

Very special porcini

Gioda

Fontina style cheese from Piedmont

Gorgonzola

sweet or savoury blue-veined cheese

Grana Padano

hard cow's milk cheese

jambon de Bosses

prosciutto from Aosta

lardo

fatback

lenticchie

lentils

losa golosa

peach flavoured biscuits

marinara

pizza with tomato sauce, or just the sauce

marrone

chestnut

Marsala

sweet (or dry) wine from western Sicily

Marzotica

Pugliese sheep's milk cheese

mela

apple

miaccia

Piedmontese flatbread

miele

honey

mocetta

mountain ham

Montasio

iconic mountain cheese

Monte Veronese

cheese from the Lessini mountains

moretta di Vignola

a very special cherry

mozzarella

Murazzano

rich sheep's milk cheese

Murianengo

Piedmontese cheese, similar to gorgonzola

nocciola

hazelnut

nocciolini

tiny hazelnut biscuits

Nostrano Valtrompia

hard cheese aged in mines

olio

oil

oliva

olive

olive ascolane

stuffed, fried olives

Ossolano

cow's milk cheese from Lake Maggiore

Paglierina

cow's milk's 'straw cheese'

pagnotta

white bread

pancetta

bacon

pane casareccio di Genzano

traditional home-style bread

pane di Altamura

DOP Puglian bread

pane di Matera

crazy-shaped bread

pane di Terni

the loaf of controversy

Pannerone

'white gorgonzola'

panuozzo

pizza-panini bread

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Parmesan cheese

passito

straw wine, wine from dried grapes

pasta di Gragnano

pasta from the Bay of Naples' 'City of Maccaroni'

pearà

marrow sauce

pecorino

sheep's milk cheese

Piacentino Ennese

sheep cheese flavoured with saffron

Piave

nutty cow's milk cheese from the Dolomites

pomodoro

tomato

prosciutto

ham

Provola

cheese from Campania and Sicily

Provolone

one of Italy's famous cheeses

Quartirolo Lombardo

soft cow's milk cheese shaped like a brick

Ragusano

A DOP Sicilian cheese

Raschera

semi fat cooked cow's milk cheese

Recioto

dessert wine made from raisins

ricotta

soft whey cheese

Ripasso

the more affordable cousin of Amarone

Riserva

reserve

Robiola

soft white cheese in many forms

salame

salami

salame di patate

Piedmontese salame with boiled spuds

salamino

salami

salsiccia

sausage

Salva Cremasco

'saved' cheese

schiacciata

flat or fluffy breads

sfincia

pastries for St Joe

Silter

traditional alpine cheese from the Val Camonica

soppressata

pressed salami

Spressa delle Giudicarie

traditional alpine cheese

Squacquerone

soft Romagna cheese

Stelvio//Stilfser

semi hard cow's milk cheese

Strachitunt

Bergamo's layered blue cheese

Supertuscans

rebel wines

Taleggio

DOP cheese from Lombardy

tartufo di Pizzo

ice cream ball filled with gooey chocolate

Toma

hard or semi hard cow's milk cheese

Torcolato

luscious dessert wine from Breganze

Trentingrana

hard cheese from Trento

trippa

tripe

Valle d'Aosta fromadzo

cow's milk cheese from Aosta

Valtellina casera

cow's milk cheese from the Alps

Vastedda

DOP sheep cheese (or bread) from Sicily

vino

wine

vino cotto

'cooked wine'

zafferano

saffron

Image by Wittylama, Creative Commons License