Provolone Valpadana PDO comes from the family of “pasta filata” (spun paste) cheeses, which are characterized by the technique of “spinning” the curd, which has ancient origins. The first notes of this cheese date back to the Middle Ages and come from Southern Italy, the birthplace of the particular production technique.
The Production Regulation for Provolone Valpadana PDO has safeguarded this cheese culture through the identification of a geometric type, replicated in the different weights.
It is the cheese with the greatest variety of shapes and weights of any other dairy product, thanks to the plasticity of the paste, which – during processing – allows cheese makers to dabble in different ways.
There are five typical forms: spherical, pear, cylindrical, salami, and mandarin. They can be produced in weights ranging from 500g to over 100kg.
The two types of Provolone Valpadana PDO are:
DOLCE
Which is distinguished by the use of veal rennet and is aged for no more than 2-3 months.
PICCANTE
Which is distinguished by the use of kid and/or lamb rennet paste and is aged for a minimum of 3 months to over a year.
Provolone Valpadana PDO is also available portioned (a.k.a “prepackaged”) in packs of around 200g, at the refrigerated counters of stores. Although it can be issued for consumption in different weights, all packages of prepackaged Provolone Valpadana PDO must bear the correct Protected Designation of Origin, the label that identifies it and the authorization number issued by the Consorzio Tutela Provolone Valpadana to each packager.
Geographical Area
The Provolone Valpadana PDO is a traditional cheese, the fruit of generations of interaction between the important factors that connect it to its territory: the geographical characteristics, agricultural production, and history of the men who have lived and worked here.
The area of origin of the milk used for Provolone Valpadana DOP cheese, includes: Lombardia, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Provincia autonoma di Trento. The Valle Padana offered a high availability of suitable milk for cheese making and also the infrastructure needed to achieve quality products.
It’s thanks to the Cistercian monks who carried out the vast operation of reclamation and channeling of spring water and surface water in the area between the Lambro and Adda rivers. This laid the foundation for the development of a cereal-livestock production concentrated on the breeding of dairy and cheese making cattle, which spread from its original core in the lower Milanese through the entire Po Valley, establishing itself as the farming valley’s main economic resource.
Geographical Area
The Provolone Valpadana PDO is a traditional cheese, the fruit of generations of interaction between the important factors that connect it to its territory: the geographical characteristics, agricultural production, and history of the men who have lived and worked here.
The area of origin of the milk, processing and processing Provolone Valpadana DOP cheese, includes: Lombardia, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Provincia autonoma di Trento. The Valle Padana offered a high availability of suitable milk for cheese making and also the infrastructure needed to achieve quality products.
It’s thanks to the Cistercian monks who carried out the vast operation of reclamation and channeling of spring water and surface water in the area between the Lambro and Adda rivers. This laid the foundation for the development of a cereal-livestock production concentrated on the breeding of dairy and cheese making cattle, which spread from its original core in the lower Milanese through the entire Po Valley, establishing itself as the farming valley’s main economic resource.