Provolone is today a whole-milk cow cheese with a smooth skin produced mainly in the Po River Valley regions of Lombardia and Veneto. It is produced in different forms: shaped like large salami up to 30 cm in diameter and 90 cm long; in a watermelon shape; in a truncated bottle shape; or also in a large pear shape with the characteristic round knob for hanging. The average weight is 5 kg.

Provolone is a semi-hard cheese with taste varying greatly from Provolone Piccante (piquant), aged minimum 4 months and with a very sharp taste, to Provolone Dolce (sweet) with a very mild taste. In Provolone Piccante, the distinctive piquant taste is produced with lipase originating from goat. The Dolce version uses calf’s lipase instead.

The Provolone Val Padana has received from the European Community the DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) seal.

In Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, small discs of locally-produced “Provolone” of 10 to 15 cm in diameter and 1 to 2 cm in height are generally consumed before eating grilled meat. The Provolone is either placed directly on the grill, on small stones or inside a foil plate and cooked until melted. The provoleta is seasoned with “chimichurri”, a mixture of oils and spices, and usually eaten communally.

Piave has a dense texture without holes that is straw-yellow in hue. It has a slightly sweet tasting flavor. Once fully aged, it becomes hard (making it well suited for grating), developing an intense, full-bodied flavor. Piave’s rind is impressed repeatedly with the name of the cheese.

Piave is sold in the United States as a hard cheese (called Piave vecchio or stravecchio, meaning “old” or “extra-old”) at which point its taste resembles that of a young Parmigiano Reggiano. It pairs well with traditional Italian dishes such as risotto and polenta, and with richer white wines, such as Chardonnay, medium-weight reds, such as Merlot and some Zinfandels.

Of the four main varieties of Pecorino, all of which have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status under European Union law, Pecorino Romano is probably the best known outside Italy, especially in the United States which has been an important export market for the cheese since the 19th century. Most Pecorino Romano is produced on the island of Sardinia, though its production is also allowed in Lazio and in the Tuscan Province of Grosseto. Pecorino Romano is not especially appreciated in Italy, where it can be hard to find, as it is considered too salty.

Ultra-Seasoned Pecora cheese produced and distributed from Genova, Liguria, made from Sardinian cheese
The other three mature PDO cheeses are the Pecorino Sardo from Sardinia; Pecorino Toscano, the Tuscan relative of Pecorino Sardo (made almost exclusively by Sardinians who emigrated to Southern Tuscany with their flocks in the 1950s); and Pecorino Siciliano (or Picurinu Sicilianu in Sicilian) from Sicily. All come in a variety of styles depending on how long they have been aged. The more matured cheeses, referred to as stagionato (“seasoned” or “aged” ), are harder but still crumbly in texture and have a decisive buttery and nutty flavours. The other two types “semi-stagionato” and “fresco” have softer texture and milder cream and milk tastes.

In the South it is traditional to add black peppercorns or red chilli flakes to Pecorino. Today many other additions are made, for example walnuts or rucola or tiny pieces of white or black truffle. In Sardinia, the larvae of the cheese fly are intentionally introduced into Pecorino Sardo to produce a local delicacy called casu marzu.

A good Pecorino Stagionato is often the finish of a meal, served with pears and walnuts or drizzled with strong chestnut honey. Pecorino is also often used to finish pasta dishes, and used to be the natural choice for most Italian regions from Umbria down to Sicily, rather than the more expensive Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is still preferred today for the pasta dishes of Rome and Lazio, for example Pasta dressed with sugo all’amatriciana, Pasta Cacio e Pepe, and Pasta alla Gricia.

Mascarpone originated in the area between Lodi and Abbiategrasso, Italy, southwest of Milan, probably in the late 16th or early 17th century. The name is said to come from mascarpa, a milk product made from the whey of stracchino (aged cheese), or from mascarpia, the word in the local dialect for ricotta (although mascarpone is not made from whey, as is ricotta).

According to cuisine expert and journalist Gianni Brera, the correct name of the cheese should be mascherpone (also credited as a dismissed variant of the word), originally stemming from Cascina Mascherpa, a farmhouse that once was located halfway between Milan and Pavia, belonging to the Mascherpa family.

Gorgonzola is made in the regions of Piedmont and Lombardy from whole cow’s milk, to which is added the bacteria Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, along with spores of the mold Penicillium glaucum. Recently, Penicillium roqueforti has started to be used to make Gorgonzola, besides its use in Roquefort cheese. After the whey is removed, it is aged at low temperatures. During the aging process, metal rods are inserted and removed, creating air channels that allow the mold spores to germinate and cause the characteristic veining. Gorgonzola is typically aged for three to four months. The length of the aging process determines the consistency of the cheese. A firm Gorgonzola is aged longer than creamy Gorgonzola. The cheese is usually packaged and sold in a foil wrapper.

Gorgonzola may be consumed in many ways. It may be melted into a risotto in the final stage of cooking, for instance. Another fairly traditional dish sees gorgonzola served alongside polenta. Pasta with gorgonzola is a dish appreciated almost everywhere in Italy by gorgonzola lovers; usually gorgonzola goes on short pasta, such as penne, rigatoni, mezze maniche, or sedani, not with spaghetti or linguine. Because of its distinctive flavor, gorgonzola is frequently offered as a topping on pizza, alone or with other soft cheeses (this is the so-called pizza ai quattro formaggi).

Today, by law, the zone of production includes only a defined area. What was once the village of Gorgonzola (not far from Milan) is being swallowed up by suburbs. Most gorgonzola is actually produced in the province of Novara, but the DOC zone also includes such provinces as Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Cuneo, Lecco, Lodi, Milan, Pavia, Varese, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, and Vercelli, as well as a number of comunes in the area of Casale Monferrato (province of Alessandria).

Gorgonzola made with goat’s milk is firm and salty. It is made usually in the Prealpi area of Piedmont and Lombardy, especially in the provinces Lecco and Alessandria.

• Buffalo Mozarella, made from domesticated water buffalo milk
• mozzarella fior di latte, made from fresh pasteurized or unpasteurized cow’s milk
• low-moisture mozzarella, which is made from whole or part skimmed milk, and widely used in the foodservice industry
• smoked mozzarella

Fresh mozzarella is generally white, but may vary seasonally to slightly yellow depending on the animal’s diet. It is a semi-soft cheese. Due to its high moisture content, it is traditionally served the day it is made, but can be kept in brine for up to a week, or longer when sold in vacuum-sealed packages. Low-moisture mozzarella can keep refrigerated for up to a month, though some pre-shredded low-moisture mozzarella is sold with a shelf life of up to 6 months Mozzarella of several kinds are also used for most types of pizza, lasagna, or served with sliced tomatoes and basil in Insalata caprese.

Cheesemaster’s note: I was asked recently, if Mozzarella is a curd. Maybe it has, I don’t know, I can’t recall if I’ve ever experienced such a thing.

If Mozzarella has occurred to anyone, I’d like to hear of it.

Dolcelatte was created by the Galbani Company (now part of Groupe Lactalis) and the name is a registered trademark. Dolcelatte was developed for the British market to provide a milder smelling and tasting alternative to the famous traditional Italian blue cheese, Gorgonzola. It is sometimes referred to as Gorgonzola Dolce.

The production method for dolcelatte is similar to the methods used to make Gorgonzola. One difference is that it is made from the curd of only one milking. It takes about two to three months to produce and age this cheese. The fat content of dolcelatte is higher than Gorgonzola at about 50%. Dolcelatte is comparable in taste and texture to dolceverde and torte gaudenzio cheese.

Casu marzu is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese, notable for being riddled with live insect larvae. Although outlawed in the European Union for health reasons, it is found mainly in Sardinia, Italy on the black market. Casu marzu literally means “rotten cheese” in Sardinian, and the cheese is known colloquially as maggot cheese.

Derived from Pecorino, Casu marzu goes beyond typical fermentation to a stage most would consider decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese, promoting an advanced level of fermentation and breaking down of the cheese’s fats. The texture of the cheese becomes very soft, with some liquid (called lagrima, from the Sardinian for “tears”) seeping out. The larvae themselves appear as translucent white worms, about 8 millimetres (0.3 in) long. When disturbed, the larvae can launch themselves for distances up to 15 centimetres (6 in). Some people clear the larvae from the cheese before consuming; others do not.

Caciocavallo cheese is shaped like a tear-drop and is similar in taste to the aged Southern Italian Provolone cheese, with a hard edible rind.

Caciocavallo Silano is a version of the cheese made with cow’s milk in designated areas of Southern Italy, in the regions of Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise and Puglia.

The Italian name of the cheese caciocavallo means “Cheese on horseback” and it is sometimes thought that it was originally made from mare’s milk, although there appears to be no historical evidence for this. More likely, the name derives from the fact that the curd is left to dry by placing it ‘a cavallo’, i.e. straddling, upon a horizontal stick or branch.

As with other mozzarellas, Burrata owes its existence to the water buffalo, which was brought to Italy from its native Asia sometime in the 1400s. Water buffalo milk is richer and higher in protein than that of cows, yielding 1.6 times more cheese. It lacks the yellow pigment carotene found in cow’s milk, so mozzarella di bufala is pure white. Mozzarella is made with the milk of water buffaloes; in Italy this is a legal requirement, and a similar cheese made with cow’s milk is called fior di latte or fiordilatte. In other countries cheese is often made with cow’s milk and sold under the names of mozzarella and burrata.

Burrata was first made around 1920 on the Bianchini farm in the town of Andria in Murgia, a small area in the Apulia region. In the 1950s, it became more widely available after a few of the local cheese factories – notably Chieppa – began producing it. It is generally believed that factories found it a way to utilize the ritagli (”scraps” or “rags”) of mozzarella. Established as an artisanal cheese, Burrata maintained its premium-product status even after it began to be made in a number of factories from Andria, Bari, Gioia del Colle, Modugno, all the way to Martina Franca, an eighty-mile stretch of Puglia. It became more widely available outside its native Apulia in the early years of the twenty-first century.

Burrata starts out much like mozzarella and many other cheeses, with rennet used to curdle the warm milk. But then, unlike other cheeses, fresh mozzarella curds are plunged into hot whey or lightly salted water, kneaded and pulled to develop the familiar stretchy strings (pasta filata), then shaped in whatever form is desired.
When making Burrata, the still-hot cheese is formed into a pouch, which is then filled with scraps of leftover mozzarella and topped off with fresh cream (panna) before closing. The finished Burrata is traditionally wrapped in the leaves of asphodel, tied to form a little brioche-like topknot, and moistened with a little whey. The asphodel leaves should still be green when the cheese is served, to indicate the cheese’s freshness. More recently the cheese is often sold in a plastic bag or container