Cheese Database

Ainuzzi vs Provola

Ainuzzi

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-soft
Type
Stretched curd
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Italy
Place
Agrigento, Sicily

Ainuzzi is a small stretched-curd cheese made from cow's milk in Cammarata and San Giovanni Gemini, two neighboring towns in Agrigento, Sicily. Makers shape each piece by hand into a small animal, most often a deer, a fallow deer, or a goat. A piece weighs about 100 to 200 grams. The rind is thin and pale straw yellow. The paste is white, soft, and compact, and the taste is sweet and delicate.

Provola

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Stretched curd
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Italy

Provola is a semi-hard Italian cheese made from cow's milk in the stretched-curd tradition. Makers heat the curd and pull it until the paste is smooth, elastic, and able to hold a compact shape. A typical piece is smaller than a provolone, often pear-shaped or rounded, with a thin natural surface. Plain provola tastes mild and milky. Smoked provola, sold as provola affumicata, picks up a light brown color and a gentle wood-smoke aroma.