Provolone is s typical and traditional Po Valley semi-hard cheese with a stringy texture, the “pasta filata” or spun paste. Produced with whole cow’s milk, it is a light straw-yellow dense cheese with possible slight holing when young. The taste is mild, becoming pleasantly sharp when it is aged further. Mild provolone is produced with calf rennet and aged from 30 to 60 days, whereas sharp provolone is produced with kid or lamb rennet and normally aged between 3 months and a year.
How to try it.
Perfect as table cheese, it is great in salads, or as an ingredient in tasty Italian dishes. It melts wonderfully and makes an essential ingredient of sandwiches or paninis. It is also great to be grilled on BBQ.
The taste of young, mild provolone combines well with sweet wines such as Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore or Recioto. The pungent flavour of sharp provolone, fruit of longer aging, can be fully appreciated with intense but balanced red wines, such as Marzemino or Merlot.
