    
Caciocavallo Cheese
Caciocavallo Cheese is made like Mozzarella (except cow's milk is used, though it appears that at some point in the past Buffalo Milk was indeed used), then shaped like a small gourd, pear or flask, usually with a definite small ball on top, forming a defined neck between it and the larger body. It is cured in brine for a few days. A string is then tied around its neck, and it is hung over poles to age. The absolute minimum aging time is 2 weeks, but it is usually much longer.
Sicilian versions can be oval or cone shaped, depending on the custom in the locality where it was made. Instead of being cured in brine, Sicilian versions are salted.
At two months, Caciocavallo Cheese is still considered "young". It is a stringy, semi-hard cheese with a mild flavour.
After that, the cheese develops a sharper flavour, and becomes hard enough to grate.
The cheeses will have grooves in their necks left by the cord.
The cheese is given different names, depending on the shape it was made in:
- Montonino - pear-shaped;
- Napolitano - spindle-shaped;
- Provolone or Melonessa - round
- Provetta - small, round.
Sometimes the cheese can be smoked as well; the smoked version is described as being "Affumicato".
Caciocavallo Cheese is mostly made in the south of Italy, in areas such as Molise, Campania and Sicily.
Literature & Lore
"In the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily they make a sort of cheese which they call Caseo di cavallo, i. e. Horse-cheese, for what reason I could not learn. These cheeses they make up in several forms; some in the fashion of a blown bladder, some in the fashion of a cylinder and some in other figures. They are neither fat nor strong, yet well-tasted and acceptable to such as have eaten of them awhile. The pulp or body of them lies in flakes and hath as it were a grain one way like wood. They told us that they were made of Buffles milk, but we believed them not, because we observed not many Buffles in those Countries, where there is more of this cheese made than of other sorts."
-- John Ray (1627 - 1704/5), Observations Topographical, Moral, & Physiological. London, Printed for J. Martyn, 1673.
Language Notes
The name "caciocavallo" literally means "cheese on horseback". Some theories about the name link it to a similar Turkish cheese called "qusqawal". However, it's likely vaguely related to its being hung over poles or rods, like a saddle over a horse.
Some think the name might mean the cheese was made at some point from horse's milk, but most experts consider this highly unlikely.
Sometimes erroneously spellt "cacciocavallo".
Also called:  Formaggio Caciocavallo, Formaggio Melonessa, Formaggio Montonino, Formaggio Napolitano, Formaggio Provetta, Formaggio Provolone (Italian)
Other entries for Mozzarella Cheese
Blissful Buffalo Mozzarella, Bocconcini Cheese, Caciocavallo Cheese, Mozzarella (North American), Scamorza Cheese, Treccia Cheese
Other entries for Semi-Firm Cheeses
Appenzeller Cheese (Quarter Fat), Ardrahan Cheese, Asadero Cheese, Blue Cheeses, Botton Cheese, Brunost Cheese, Caerphilly Cheese, Cantal Cheese, Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese, Cheshire Cheese, Chèvre, Chihuahua Cheese, Cotherstone Cheese, Criollo Cheese, Danbo Cheese, Danish Fontina Cheese, Edam Cheese, Farmer's Cheese, Fontal Cheese, Gaperon Cheese, Grimbister Cheese, Jalapeño Cheese, Leerdammer Cheese, Liederkranz Cheese, Livarot Cheese, Maasdam Cheese, Manchego Cheese (Mexican), Monterey Jack Cheese, Morbier Cheese, Pavé d'Auge Cheese, Pavé d'Isigny Cheese, Pavé de Berry Cheese, Penyston Cheese, Quartirolo Cheese, Queso con Loroco, Ricotta Salata Cheese, Tetilla Cheese, Vacherin Fribourgeois, Wensleydale Cheese
Other entries for Cheese
Affinage, American Cheeses, Casu Marzu, Cheese Rinds, Creamery, Double/Triple-Cream Cheese, Extra-Hard Cheeses, Firm Cheeses, Goat's Milk Cheeses, Mexican Cheeses, Pate (of a Cheese), Processed Cheese, Queso Fundido, Rennet, Sheep's Milk Cheeses, Skim-Milk Cheeses, Smear-Ripened Cheeses, Soft Cheeses, Surface-Ripened Cheeses, Sweet Curd Cheeses, The Crumblies, Truckle, Washed-Curd Cheeses, Washed-Rind Cheeses, Yak Cheese, Yeel Cheese
Other entries for Dairy
Butterfat, Butter, Milk, Nondairy Topping
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