[Sca-cooks] Cacciocavallo with pasta?

[Mike C. Baker / Kihe Blackeagle]

Cacciocavallo is available in the USA in semi-rural southeastern Oklahoma --  
admittedly, in an Italian grocery that has been there ever since Italian 
miners were brought in to work the mines, but that is where I have found it.

You can also check outlets such as Whole Foods, and I *think* that I spotted 
something very similar in the deli / international section of supermarkets 
while I was recently on contract in the Pittsburgh, PA region and 
luxuriating in aged, smoked provolone in abundant quantity.  <f/x: 
hand-waving furiously at Odrianna, with continuing good memories of the 
excellent, cozy-comfortable, Cook's Collegium I attended while in the 
Debatable Lands>

If you can't find Cacciocavallo itself, in my opinion a good aged NON-smoked 
provolone -- particularly one that has been "hung" so it looks physically a 
bit like a birdhouse gourd -- should make a reasonable substitute both for 
the palate and for the texture(s).  No, it will not be the same, but I'm 
talking reasonable facsimile here.

 Adieu, Amra / ttfn - Mike / Pax ... Kihe

Mike C. Baker
SCA: al-Sayyid Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra
"Other": Reverend Kihe Blackeagle PULC (the DreamSinger Bard)
Opinions? I'm FULL of 'em
alt. e-mail: KiheBard at hotmail.com OR MCBaker216 at cs.com
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Huette von Ahrens" <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
To: "Christiane" <christianetrue at earthlink.net>; "Cooks within the SCA" 
<sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 3:02 PM
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cacciocavallo with pasta?


> Cacciocavallo
>
> An ancient cheese, certainly made in Roman times as its recipe was 
> described by Columella in De
> Rustica in AD35 - 45. It is known thoughout the Balkan states as 
> Kashkaval, in Turkey as Kasar
> Peynir and even as far as Syria and Lebanon as Kashkawan. The transalation 
> in all languages is
> "cheese on horseback" and stems from the cheeses being traditionally hung 
> in pairs over poles for
> maturing. Like many Italian cheeses this one is eaten young but also 
> matured for up to two years
> and used like Parmesan. It is a plastic curd cheese, pear shaped and the 
> cheeses weigh about 2kg
> each.
>
> It seems to be very expensive from this e-merchant:
>
> http://amos.shop.com/amos/cc/main/ccn_search/st/cacciocavallo/sy/productsx/ccsyn/260/prd/13930134/ccsid/369742562-32189/adtg/04190541
>
> These e-merchants seem a touch cheaper:
>
> http://www.gourmetfoodstore.com/cheese/cheese-details-6832.asp
>
> http://caviarmore.com/Category.aspx?CategoryID=1286
>
> Huette
>
> --- Christiane <christianetrue at earthlink.net> wrote:
>> 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
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>
> Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for
> they shall never cease to be amused.
>
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