[Sca-cooks] Cacciocavallo with pasta?

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Christiane:
>There was some wondering of what kind of cheese to use with the 
>Lombardy ravioli recipe. This got me to thinking of a quote from a 
>letter to Isabella d'Este Gonzaga from one of her courtiers, telling 
>her that if she visited Sicily, she would have to have one of their 
>pasta dishes, dripping with cheese and butter and sugar and 
>cinnamon. In Sicily, the cheese to grate and melt on pasta is 
>cacciocavallo; this type of cheese has been made at least since the 
>Middle Ages.
>
>Typically I don't think you can find this cheese in American 
>supermarkets; so has anyone here ever used this cheese? How goes it 
>compare with grana padano or parmesan or romano?
>
>Gianotta

I gather it's a lot softer than the three you mention above; the 
process of making it seems to suggest it's more like mozzarella, but 
aged somewhat; if I had to guess I'd say it was probably something 
like a cow's milk provolone. I believe I've seen it in markets in New 
York, but never tried it.

But just out of curiosity, why would you think first about what seems 
to be a Southern Italian cheese to use in a recipe from Lombardy, 
which is about as far north in Italy as you can get?

Adamantius
-- 




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Rousseau, "Confessions", 1782

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