PROVOLONE

Provolone is a southern Italian cheese, straw-white in colour with a smooth, supple texture and an oval or cylindrical shape.

Provolone comes in many different sizes and can often be found hanging from the ceiling in Italian delicatessens.

The cheese is made by the pasta filata (layering) process, which gives it a smooth, silky texture; the curds are left to solidify, then they are cut into strips before being pressed together into a sausage shape. This is salted in brine for 6 – 12 hours, then the cheese is shaped and left to mature.

Variations on Provolone include caciocavallo, a smooth smoky cheese, which develops a sharp flavour that becomes sharper as it matures. It takes its name from the way the oval cheeses are tied up in pairs and hung up to dry over a wooden pole, as though on horseback.

It is eaten young or grated when mature.