Provolone

Provolone: Nutrition, History and Cooking Guide

Provolone is a stretched-curd (pasta filata) Italian cheese made from full-fat cow's milk, related to mozzarella and caciocavallo but aged and shaped into larger forms. It originated in southern Italy — primarily Campania and Calabria — and is now predominantly produced in the Po Valley of northern Italy (Lombardy and Veneto) following the industrial development of Italian dairy in the late nineteenth century. Provolone is produced in two main styles: Provolone Dolce (sweet, aged two to three months — mild, smooth, and supple with good melting properties) and Provolone Piccante (sharp, aged six months or more — firmer, more pungent, with a sharp, slightly spicy character from enzymatic activity during long ageing). The cheeses are formed in distinctive shapes — sausage, cone, truncated cone, or melon shapes — and hung to age on strings. Provolone Val Padana holds PDO status for production in the Po Valley. American provolone — widely used in Italian-American deli sandwiches and on pizza — is typically a milder, less aged product than the Italian original.

Nutritional Value and Uses

Provolone provides 351 kcal and 25.6 g of protein per 100 g, with 26.6 g of fat. Calcium at approximately 756 mg per 100 g is very high. It provides vitamin A, B12, zinc, and phosphorus. Dolce provolone melts well — use on pizza, in panini, in Italian sandwiches with salami and roasted peppers, and in baked dishes. Piccante provolone grates well and is used as a flavouring cheese, similar to aged Pecorino, over pasta dishes in southern Italian cooking.