Cheese Database

Caciocavallo vs Pallone di Gravina

Caciocavallo, field guide plate
Caciocavallo, photographed

Caciocavallo

Facts

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

Caciocavallo is an Italian stretched-curd cheese made from cow's milk. The usual shape is a pear or a small gourd, with a narrow neck where a cord is tied. Makers hang the cheeses in pairs over a beam, and that pose explains the name. A thin natural rind covers a firm pale paste that slices cleanly. Young cheese is mild and supple, and older cheese turns drier, saltier, and fit for grating.

Pallone di Gravina

Facts

Milk
Cow
Texture
Semi-hard
Type
Stretched curd
Rind
Natural rind
Country
Italy
Place
Apulia and Basilicata

Pallone di Gravina is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese from Apulia and Basilicata, in the south of Italy. The word pallone means a large ball, and makers shape the cheese that way after they stretch the curd. It sits in the same broad family as caciocavallo and provolone, with a smooth paste and a firm natural rind. A young ball is pale and supple. An older one turns deeper gold, harder, and more savory on the tongue.