Provolone

Originating in southern Italy and enjoyed by the ancient Romans, Provolone is an uncooked full-flavor cheese that intensifies and sharpens with age. This cheese is produced using whole cows’ milk coagulated with different types of rennet depending on the flavor profile. For the mild variety, which is soft and smooth, cheese makers add calf’s rennet and hang the cheese to cure for two to three months. This is often eaten as a table cheese. To make the sharp variety, which is darker, tougher and spicier, cheese makers use lamb’s or kid goat’s rennet and age the cheese for seven months to two years. Consumers tend to grate the piquant Provolone and use it as a topping. Provolone is produced in Wisconsin smoked or unsmoked.

Recommended Applications

• Melt Provolone atop a roast pork sandwich and serve with horseradish sauce.
• Make a soup with bacon, onion, cabbage and Provolone cheese.
• Bake a vegetable casserole with carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes.
• Fill beef rolls with Provolone cheese and bacon and serve with a side of mashed potatoes.
• Top a pizza with Provolone and mozzarella cheeses.
• Serve Provolone cheese with salami, bologna, boiled ham, prosciutto or mortadella.