Caciocavallo
Caciocavallo, an Italian plastic-curd (pasta filata) cheese, was made
first in southern Italy but now is made also in Sicily and in summer in
northern Italy. In northern Italy it is made chiefly for ex****t. It is
especially suitable for making in warm climates, as it keeps well. The
cured cheese has a smooth, firm body, and preferably the interior of
the cheese is white.
Caciocavallo and Provolone are made by almost identical methods. How-
ever, Caciocavallo contains less fat than Provolone and usually is not
smoked, and each is molded in distinctive shapes. Typically,
Caciocavallo is spindle-shaped, with a pointed bottom and with a neck
and head at the top. One theory of the origin on the name is that the
cheeses, which are tied in pairs and hung over poles to cure, look as
if they were hung over a saddle; hence, cheese on horseback, or "cacio
a cavallo."
Caciocavallo is made usually from cow's milk, but sometimes from a
mixture of cow's and ewe's milk. Evening milk is skimmed and mixed with
whole morning milk in a vat or wooden tub. Starter may be added; whey
from the previous day, containing lactobacilli and thermophilic
streptococci, may be used. The ;milk is set at a temperature of about
96 F. with rennet, preferably rennet paste. The curd is cut in 20 to
30 minutes, with a metal skimmer and then with a stirrer, into pieces
about the size of a pea. After the curd settles, the whey is removed
and the curd is pressed.
The compressed curd is transferred to a wooden tub in a warm room and
covered with hot whey. An energetic fermentation occurs. As soon as a
sample of the curd will stretch into a tough, elastic fiber when it is
immersed in very hot water, it is ready for draining and molding (this
may be from 5 to 8 hours or as long as 20 hours after fermentation
begins).
The curd is transferred to a special table to drain; then it is cut
into long thin slices which are placed in a tub and covered with very
hot water. The slices are worked with a paddle and by hand until they
are very elastic; then they are drawn into rope-like pieces of uniform
size and draped on a pole. These rope-like pieces are molded into the
typical Caviocavallo shape. While being molded they are immersed
occasionally in very hot water to keep them hot. Molding while hot
expels whey from the curd and produces cheese with a compact curd,
free of openings, and with a properly sealed surface.
The cheese are placed in a vat of cold water - on a cloth stretched
under
the water or in forms - for 3 or 4 hours, to cool and harden. Then they
are salted in brine at about 50 F. for 3 or 4 days, after which they
are dried, tied in pairs, and hung over poles in a curing room at a
temperature of 62 to 65 F. and a relative humidity of 80 to 85 percent.
They are cleaned when they become moldy, and they are oiled.
Cheese cured for 2 to 4 months is suitable for table use, and that
cured for 6 to 12 months or longer is suitable for grating. The yield
is 7 3/4 to 8 3/4 pounds of uncured cheese, or about 6 3/4 pounds of
cured cheese, per 100 pounds of partly skimmed cow's milk. The cheeses
usually weigh between 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 pounds.
Analysis: Moisture, not more than 40 percent (usually 28 to 38
percent); fat, 19 to 30 percent (not less than 42 percent in the
solids); protein, 32 to 38 percent; and salt, 2 to 6 percent.
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