French president Charles De Gaulle once said, ‘How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?’ Well, how about governing Italy then, which lays claim to some 450 different types!

Many Italian cheeses date back thousands of years; Pecorino cheese, for example, dates back to the time of Christ. We have the Romans to thank for the firm establishment of Italian cheeses – in particular their invention of the cheese press and their experimentations with ingredients and aging processes and spans. Back then, many homes contained a dedicated ‘cheese kitchen’ or caseale, where the family made and aged cheeses, and in the many monasteries across the country cheese-making was a key task for the monks. Travellers were soon spoilt for choice in sampling varieties, and they took home whichever kinds they had developed a taste for, so spreading the word (English writer Samuel Pepys was supposedly so taken with his Parmigiano Reggiano that during the Great Fire of London in 1666 he buried it in his garden to protect it from the heat!).

Today, Italian cheeses are immensely popular worldwide. Four in ten cheese purchases in the United States, for example, are of mozzarella. No doubt you eat at least one kind of Italian cheese regularly. But are you ‘playing safe’ in the delicatessen, sticking to the much-loved mozzarella and ricotta and mascarpone? Is it time to try a new taste?

Here are some traditional Italian cheeses that I heartily recommend you try:

• Caciocavallo: Made in Southern Italy from sheep or cow’s milk Dates back to 500 BC. Don’t be put off by the name (which translates as horse head in Latin!); this is a flavoursome cheese that belongs on any antipasto board alongside cured meats and dry breads.
• Fontina: Made in from the Aosta Valley from cow’s milk. Slightly spicy and a little soft. Excellent when melted – the perfect pizza topping.
• Gorgonzola: Made in Lombardy from cow’s milk. Comes as soft, mellow and more mature, crumblier. Known for its blue mold veins (originally from being aged in penicillium-rich damp caves!). Ideal with pasta and salad, and try it with pears or figs for a fresh dessert.
• Pecorino Toscano: Made in Tuscany from sheep’s milk. A rich, slightly oily cheese that’s a little nutty. Divine with prosciutto or served as a nibble with olives.
• Provolone: Italy’s national cheese! Made in Piedmont and Lombardy from cow’s milk. Cave-aged for between three and twelve months. A little sharper than mozzarella; adds bite to any sandwich.
• Robiola Piemonte: Made in Piedmont from cow, goat, and/or sheep’s milk. Robiola are really creamy cheeses (cream is often added). Delicious melted into risotto.
• Taleggio: Made in Lombardy from cow’s milk. Dates back to the ninth century. Deliciously oozy! Serve with hunks of crusty artisan bread.

Don’t forget the golden rule for cheese: serve at room temperature.

Can’t choose between thee cheeses? Time for a fondue!

Perhaps your local shops don’t offer much in the way of an Italian cheese selection. Don’t let that deter you: these days lots of companies offer online shopping for cheese. Some will send you a monthly box with new cheeses to try alongside your favourites. I wonder what your postman will make of the scent?

And if you’re really dedicated to the pursuit of flavour, add a trip to a ‘cheese restaurant’ to your wish list. Yes, there exist restaurants in which every dish on the menu contains cheese. A cheese lover’s paradise!

• Barcelona: Cheese Me
• England: L’art du Fromage
• France: Le Bistro du Fromager
• US: Caseus Fromagerie & Bistro