Provola dei Nebrodi

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Provola dei Nebrodi is a DOP stretched-curd cheese from the Nebrodi mountains of Sicily, made with raw cow's milk and lamb or kid rennet. It is the only Sicilian provola that is aged, and wheels reach four or five kilograms (about 9 to 11 pounds).

Enzian44, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Key Facts

Country of Origin	Italy
Specific Origin	Northeastern Sicily, area of Floresta
Protection	PDO (2018)
Milk Type	Cow's whole milk, sometimes with sheep's and/or goat's milk
Milk Treatment	Raw
Rind	Thin, straw-yellow to yellow-amber
Texture	Soft and compact
Flavor	Sweet and slightly sour when fresh, savory and strong when aged
Colors	White to straw-yellow interior
Forms	Pear-shaped hard pasta filata
Age	1 to 4 months
Rennet Type	Farmhouse kid’s or lamb’s rennet paste

What is Provola dei Nebrodi Cheese?

Production started around Floresta and spread across the Nebrodi mountains, in the metropolitan city of Messina. Alcara Li Fusi, Basicò, Bronte, Capizzi, Castel di Lucio, Cesarò, Mistretta, Randazzo, San Fratello and Tortorici are among the towns that make it. The cheese carries DOP status and was recognized earlier as a PAT product.

Raw cow's milk is coagulated with lamb or kid rennet. The cheesemaker works the paste by hand for a long time, much the way a baker kneads bread, then pours hot water over the curd and spins it. That long handling is why the cheese flakes in the mouth when eaten. Salting is done in saturated brine. Fresh wheels need at least ten days and up to a month, semi-aged three or four months, aged longer still. Sometimes a whole lemon or a piece of butter is sealed inside.

It takes the classic caciocavallo shape and can reach four or five kilograms (about 9 to 11 pounds). The rind is smooth and glossy, straw yellow shading toward amber. The paste is white tending to straw, soft and compact. Flavor runs from sweet with a light tang to sharp, depending on how far the aging has gone.

It is eaten as a table cheese and also cooked into local Sicilian dishes. Several summer festivals honor it, the best known at Castel di Lucio on 17 August and at Basicò on 19 August.