What Is Provolone Cheese? How Provolone Is Made

Provolone cheese is an Italian semi-hard cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk. Thanks to its complex flavor profile and pleasant aroma, it’s a deli counter staple that pairs especially well with salami and prosciutto. In Italy, provolone is commonly served on sandwiches or as a table cheese placed out at room temperature to be enjoyed with crusty bread, olives, thin slices of cured meats, and a glass of full-bodied red wine.

At the end of the nineteenth century, cheesemakers in the Lombardy and Veneto regions of the Po River Valley in Southern Italy began making a larger variant of a popular cheese called provola. The result was provolone, which translates to "large provola." Much like Parmigiano Reggiano, Italian provolone is subject to a strict certification process. Provolone Valpadana and provolone del Monaco both receive DOP designation from the European Union to ensure quality standards are met. A similar cheese that is popular in South America is known as provoleta. In the United States, provolone is typically made in the style of provolone dolce, a type of aged provolone.

Like mozzarella, provolone is a stretched-curd cheese belonging to the pasta filata family of cheeses. Provolone is made by first allowing warm cow's milk to curdle, a process that breaks the curds into small pieces and separates them from the whey. Cheesemakers then submerge the curds in a bath of hot water until they float to the top. They then remove the curds from the water, mix them together, and knead them until they develop a stretchy, stringy texture. The cheese then soaks in a brine before being wrapped in a wax or plastic rind and left to age in a cellar.

Aged provolone is classified in one of two ways: provolone dolce or provolone piccante. Provolone dolce is made from calf's rennet; it’s aged for two to three months and has a sweet, buttery flavor. Provolone piccante is typically made from goat or lamb's rennet: it’s aged for four months to a year and gets its sharp, tangy flavor from the enzymes used during production.

Provolone and mozzarella are both Italian cheeses belonging to the pasta filata family. However, there are several notable differences between them that make these two types of cheese unique.

• Production process: Provolone cheese is a cow's milk cheese that requires fresh calf's rennet for production. Mozzarella, on the other hand, is made by ripening buffalo milk. Provolone is also aged for at least several months (sometimes up to a year), whereas mozzarella is a fresh cheese that does not undergo an aging process.
• Shelf life: Fresh mozzarella is typically packed in a brine solution to help extend its shelf life, but once opened, fresh mozzarella should be eaten within three to five days. Provolone, on the other hand, can last two to three weeks in the refrigerator.
• Flavor: Provolone has a much more complex flavor profile than mozzarella. Even provolone dolce, which is sweeter and milder, has a tangier flavor than mozzarella.
• Uses: Since provolone is a semi-hard chees, and mozzarella is a semi-soft cheese, the two kinds of cheese have different uses. Mozzarella is much more easily melted than provolone, making it an obvious choice for pizza and creamy pasta sauces. Provolone is best on sandwiches and served on a meat and cheese board.

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