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Grande Cheese Production Standards

Crafted with integrity, because excellence deserves nothing less.

We do things the right way, even if it’s the harder way. That’s why all our cheese is crafted using only simple, natural ingredients and the highest production standards. It’s the way we’ve always done it. And the way we always will.

Grande Cheese Production Standards

Crafted with integrity, because excellence deserves nothing less.

We do things the right way, even if it’s the harder way. That’s why all our cheese is crafted using only simple, natural ingredients and the highest production standards. It’s the way we’ve always done it. And the way we always will.

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The foundation of great cheese.

Our convictions never waver. They shape each and every batch of cheese, ensuring consistent quality and performance you can count on.

Our convictions never waver. They shape each and every batch of cheese, ensuring consistent quality and performance you can count on.

We’ll always make cheese the right way. No shortcuts. No compromises.

What drives us? A relentless pursuit of excellence in everything we do. It’s a value that’s been instilled into our company since its founding.

We’ll never waver on our commitments to animal welfare, sustainability, production principles or the decision to use only the best, most natural ingredients we can get our hands on.

If you can’t pronounce it, it doesn’t belong in our cheese.

We take no shortcuts when it comes to crafting our cheese. And when we say simple, we mean it. There are never any fillers, artificial ingredients, preservatives or whiteners like titanium dioxide added to our cheese.

We’ll never stop looking for more ways to elevate our cheesemaking process.

Our cheesemakers have mastered the balance of old world artisanship and new cheesemaking technology. Never abandoning the principles that lead to uncompromising flavor, consistency and performance.

Our high standards in milk start with the herds that produce it.

All of our milk comes from family dairy farms, all clustered no more than 50 miles away from a production facility. Each cow is meticulously cared for, given an ideal diet and habitat that help them produce some of the best milk in the world.

In full transparency

What’s in our cheese.
And what’s not.

Grande has always set the standard for how cheese should be made. No additives. No whiteners. No compromise. Just 100% real ingredients.

Just four raw ingredients

All of our cheeses start with just four ingredients: Pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes and proprietary cultures. That’s it.

We would never use

Anti-caking agents like potato starch and cellulose. Or titanium dioxide, a common whitener found in many fresh mozzarellas. These ingredients are not traditional and interfere with the performance of cheese.

The color of true milk

Our cheese looks the way it should — a slightly off white color that is the true color of milk. We would never artificially whiten our cheese.

Unbelievable milk

The best, most premium milk can only come from healthy cows. And our herds are consistently the healthiest in the world — producing milk that sets a standard that’s been called “unattainable” by some.

In full transparency

What’s in our cheese.
And what’s not.

Grande has always set the standard for how cheese should be made. No additives. No whiteners. No compromise. Just 100% real ingredients.

Just four raw ingredients

All of our cheeses start with just four ingredients: Pasteurized milk, salt, enzymes and proprietary cultures. That’s it.

We would never use

Anti-caking agents like potato starch and cellulose. Or titanium dioxide, a common whitener found in many fresh mozzarellas. These ingredients are not traditional and interfere with the performance of cheese.

Unbelievable milk

The best, most premium milk can only come from healthy cows. And our herds are consistently the healthiest in the world — producing milk that sets a standard that’s been called “unattainable” by some.

The color of true milk

Our cheese looks the way it should — a slightly off white color that is the true color of milk. We would never artificially whiten our cheese.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your most expensive ingredient is cheese, so naturally, you want to know what goes into it. Without giving away secrets, we’ll tell you everything we can.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your most expensive ingredient is cheese, so naturally, you want to know what goes into it. Without giving away secrets, we’ll tell you everything we can.

Our goal is to transform the natural goodness of quality milk into cheese that has exceptional flavor and performance. That requires quality ingredients and attention to detail, always staying grounded with traditional cheesemaking principles.

We use only the basic, essential ingredients (i.e., milk, proprietary cultures, salt, and enzymes). It starts with some of the best milk in the world — sourced from family dairy farms that are contracted to exclusively work with Grande.

From there, the milk is pasteurized and standardized to have the right butterfat for the type of cheese. Cultures are allowed to grow in the milk. In fact, most cheeses are a type of fermentation process.

At the right time some enzymes are added to cause the milk to coagulate; which leads to the formation of curd and whey. The curds are collected in different ways depending on the type of cheese. For mozzarella, curds are cut up and mixed and stretched in hot water before being shaped into loaves and chilled in brine. It’s classic cheesemaking infused with carefully selected dairy technology to support quality and consistency.

Cultures are ‘good’ bacteria that are the engine for cheesemaking. They produce acid to help drive cheesemaking and develop flavor and functionality in cheese. Different types or strains create different flavors, textures and characteristics. Ours are proprietary.

Enzymes are just a class of proteins that have a catalytic function. That’s a technical way of saying that they help to change other things; different types of enzymes have different functions or activities. For example, some enzymes used in cheesemaking are for coagulating the milk. The enzyme cuts and destabilizes some of the milk proteins through its action and ultimately results in curd formation.

Milk is the primary ingredient for cheese! Great cheese requires great milk. And you need to start with the best milk to get the best cheese. Our milk is amongst the finest in the world because we have cows that are highly cared for in terms of nutrition, health and comfort. As a result, our cows produce milk with an unbelievably low somatic cell count (a key quality indicator) that supports superior cheese.

That’s because what you see is unadulterated cheese in its purest, natural form. We don’t add anything to change the color of the milk or our cheese. We would never add whiteners like titanium dioxide to make our cheese more white. In fact, titanium dioxide has been banned in many countries, including all of Europe.

We use a combination of old world techniques, principles and modern cheesemaking technology. We apply technology when possible and appropriate, but we also understand that some aspects need a traditional or handcrafted touch to get the right result. Our Aged provolone and Burrata are 100% handcrafted, right down to hand tying a knot or rope.

Somatic Cell Count (SCC) serves as a key indicator of herd health and milk quality. The SCC measures the concentration of white blood cells from the mammary gland lining, which are normally present in low numbers. An elevated SCC signals the cow’s immune system is responding to an infection or inflammatory process, often within the udder itself. Grande milk has some of the lowest somatic cell counts in the world. It’s been called “unattainable” by some. In the end, quality milk leads to quality cheese.

We believe cheese should be cheese. Anti-caking agents like cellulose (which is literally derived from wood pulp) are added to pre-shredded cheese to keep the shreds from clumping together in the bag and aids in the packaging processes. But they also coat each piece of cheese, which can affect how it melts, how it tastes and how it performs in your kitchen.

We carefully manage our dicing, shredding and packaging processes to deliver just exceptional cheese without the extra stuff.

It’s because our dedicated producers go to extreme measures in caring for their cows!  They give them an ideal living space that help them thrive, including different approaches for climate control and comfortable bedding.  They also feed them a curated diet to optimize their health and nutrition.  

All of this leads to a super healthy cow population.  We know this because we measure quality indicators like somatic cell count (SCC). The lower the SCC, the healthier the cow. Grande cows have some of the lowest somatic cell counts in the world.  In addition, all farms are within 50 miles of a facility which helps support freshness.

Well, giving you the specifics of our cheesemaking technology would be giving away secrets. But what we can tell you is that we will only consider technology if it will deliver the consistency and quality you expect, not change or diminish the quality of the product and its performance. That’s way more important to us than speed or volume.

Yes. All our milk comes from cows that have not been treated with rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin), a synthetic growth hormone. Our cows are as natural as our milk. 

As it is with most foods and recipes, the best results are usually with simple, fresh, quality ingredients. Cheese with fillers, stabilizers and anti-caking agents help the cheese to behave in the package, but they typically alter or interfere with the flavor, mouthfeel and performance of the cheese.

Our Mozzarella is just milk, cultures, enzymes, and salt. Nothing to get in the way of proper melting, mouthfeel or performance. It has better flavor, visual appeal and reheat qualities, which is imperative for great carryout and delivery.

Interested in learning more about our quality?

Request a Tasting

There’s only one way to know if our cheese will meet your expectations:
Taste it, bake it, and prove it.

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provolone, shredded