The production process of Bitto, as with all P.D.O. brands, is subject to a strict protocol: a maximum of 10 percent raw goat’s milk may be added to the cheese made from whole raw cow’s milk. Processing must be done on site within 30 minutes of milking. The cheese ready to taste will be cooked, semi-hard or hard if very mature (aging varies from a minimum of 70 days to more than 10 years). From the 70th day, the Protection Consortium, after inspection, affixes the appropriate firebrand mark.
To obtain such a special cheese, dairy cows must be fed on pasture grass from the mountain pastures in the production area, which can only be supplemented with 3 kg of dry matter per day consisting of corn, barley, wheat, soy, molasses and shepherd’s salt.