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Provolone is an Italian cheese made from cow’s milk. A
sturdy cheese, provolone is perfect for slicing or shredding
and featuring in sandwiches or on pizzas. The fl avors can
range from mild and sweet to sharp, based on the amount of
time it ages.
Store provolone wrapped in parchment and then plastic
in the refrigerator.
TRY IT: Baked Provolone with Tomatoes, Marjoram, and
Balsamic, p. 28Provolone
Pecorino is o en misunderstood. To those
who buy it in American supermarkets, it’s
a dry, tangy, oversalted hard cheese that’s
hardly fi t for grating onto pasta, let alone
enjoying with wine and crackers. But there’s
much more to Pecorino than meets the
aisles. There are dozens of varieties, each
with its own texture and fl avor. In some of
its best versions, Pecorino is a rich, earthy,
pleasantly sharp and peppery cheese with
a fi rm yet creamy texture that’s perfect
for nibbling.
Pecorino (derived from pecora, Italian
for sheep) is a sheep’s milk cheese that’s
been produced all over central and southern
Italy since well before the rise of the RomanEmpire. Made with either pasteurized or
unpasteurized milk, Pecorino can
be aged anywhere from
20 days—resulting in a so -
textured, mild-fl avored
cheese with an edible rind—
to up to a year for harder,
more pungent cheeses.
Try Pecorino cheese on a cheese
plate with jam or mostarda or grate it
on pasta, risotto, or soups.
Pecorino should be loosely wrapped and
stored in the refrigerator.
TRY IT: Amatriciana Sauce, p. 22Pecorino
Empire. Made with either pasteurized or
unpasteurized milk, Pecorino can
be aged anywhere from
20 days—resulting in a so -
textured, mild-fl avored
cheese with an edible rind—
to up to a year for harder,
more pungent cheeses.
Try Pecorino cheese on a cheese
plate with jam or mostarda or grate it
on pasta, risotto, or soups.
Pecorino should be loosely wrapped and
stored in the refrigerator.
: Amatriciana Sauce, p. 22Ricotta—which translates from Italian as “recooked”—is a
so , fresh cheese made from the whey le over in the produc-
tion of other cheeses. In the traditional method, the whey is
le to ferment for up to 24 hours, then heated until the protein
in the whey forms into small curds. These days, ricotta is o en
made with a combination of whey and fresh milk. The texture is
creamy, though slightly grainy, and the fl avor is milky and sweet.
Ricotta is a common ingredient in Italian desserts, as well as
fi lled and baked pasta dishes.
Keep fresh ricotta well wrapped in the refrigerator and use
within two days (even a er one day, you’ll notice a decline in
quality). Supermarket ricotta will last several days longer in the
fridge once it’s opened.
T R Y I T: Cannoli Cookies, p. 79Ricotta