Provolone (, ) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk. It is an aged ''

pasta filata () is a technique in the manufacture of a family of Italian cheeses also known in English as stretched-curd, pulled-curd, and plastic-curd cheeses. Stretched curd cheeses manufactured using the technique undergo a plasticising and kneading tr ...

'' ('stretched-curd')

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

originating in the

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

region, near

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

, where it is still produced in

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

, sausage, or cone shapes long. Provolone-type cheeses are also produced in other countries. The most important provolone production region today is northwestern Italy and, in particular, the city of

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

. Provolone, ''provola'', and '' provoleta'' are versions of the same basic cheese. Some versions of provolone are smoked.

History and varieties

The term ''provolone'' (meaning 'large ''provola''') appeared around the end of the 19th century, when it started to be manufactured in the southern regions of Italy and assumed its current large size. The smaller sized variant is called ''provola'' () and comes in plain and smoked (''affumicata'') varieties. Provolone is a semi-hard cheese with taste varying greatly from ''provolone piccante'' (sharp, piquant), aged for a minimum of four 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 In biochemistry, lipase ( ) refers to a class of enzymes that catalyzes the hydrolysis of fats. Some lipases display broad substrate scope including esters of cholesterol, phospholipids, and of lipid-soluble vitamins and sphingomyelinases; howe ...

(enzyme) derived from goat. The ''dolce'' version uses calf's lipase instead. Both ''provolone Valpadana'' and ''provolone del Monaco'' (meaning 'monk's provolone'; from the

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

area of Italy) have received

protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...

(PDO) from the European Union, meaning no country other than Italy may legally produce a cheese called that. In

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, and

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small discs of locally produced pulled-curd provolone of in diameter and in height are sometimes grilled until partially melted and eaten as a starter, often seasoned with herbs. The cheese when served this way is often called '' provoleta'' in Spanish. Provolone makes up 2.5% of the cheese produced in the U.S. with of provolone made in 2023.Quickstats
National Agricultural Statistics Service, United States Department of Agriculture, accessed March 12, 2024

References

{{Italian cheeses Italian cheeses Cuisine of Campania Cow's-milk cheeses Italian products with protected designation of origin Cheeses with designation of origin protected in the European Union Smoked cheeses Stretched-curd cheeses

History and varieties

See also

References