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Cheese from Italy, Calabria

Animaletti di provolaanimaletti di provola

Animaletti di provola are small stretched-curd cheeses modelled by hand into horses, riders and other animals in the province of Catanzaro. Cow milk is set with liquid rennet, the drained curd is left in pieces at room temperature for three or four days to sour, and then it is stretched in water at 80 °C and shaped. The figures are brined about 12 hours and ripen only a few days.

Fully documentedCheese7.5 days – 9.5 daysPATFamily: Pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese family

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe regional sheet lists milk, rennet and salt without amounts. Figures weigh 35–50 g or 200–300 g.
Fresh cow milkHalf milked the evening before and half the morning of making. The regional sheet says the milk is pasteurised; the ONAF sheet says half of it is heated to 50–60 °C and mixed with the rest[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
Liquid rennetCalf, lamb or kid rennet in the ONAF sheet[pat-sheet][onaf-sheet]
SaltAs a brine bath[pat-sheet]
Starterthe milk's natural microflora (the regional law names a natural microflora); the curd sours on its own at room temperature for three or four days

Total time across the recorded steps: 7.5 days – 9.5 days

Start
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50–60 °C

What changes: Half the milk is heated and mixed with the rest to reach setting heat

Step 1 of 7
Warm the milk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
50–60 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The regional sheet says the milk is pasteurised. Output: milk at setting temperature.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Animaletti di provola are small stretched-curd cheeses modelled by hand into horses, riders and other animals in the province of Catanzaro. Cow milk is set with liquid rennet, the drained curd is left in pieces at room temperature for three or four days to sour, and then it is stretched in water at 80 °C and shaped. The figures are brined about 12 hours and ripen only a few days. Made in 7 steps over 7.5 days – 9.5 days. The longest step, ripen a few days, takes 4–5 days (ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori F…). Natural milk microflora; the regional law calls the ripening of the curd a vigorous lactic fermentation does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step4–5 daysReported[onaf-sheet]Ripen a few days
Temperature50–60 °CReported[onaf-sheet]Warm the milk

What makes this one different

Animaletti di provola are provola curd modelled into figures, often a horse or a horse with an armed rider in Marcellinara. The curd sours for three or four days at room temperature before it is stretched, and the cheeses are made to order as gifts and for food fairs.

Rind
None; surface just dried, smooth, straw-yellow
Size
35–300 g

Related ferments

Variants

  • Cavallo con cavaliereA horse with a rider armed with a sabre, pistol and pack, or in medieval armour.

Safety

The sheets disagree on the milk heat treatment (pasteurised in the regional sheet, partly thermised in the ONAF sheet); the cheeses are eaten within days.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The cheeses once brightened the stalls of village fairs and markets and were a gift adults bought for children. The regional sheet cites the 1990 INSOR atlas of typical cheeses and a 1992 CNR survey of southern Italian dairy products. Calabrian Regional Law no. 5 of 23 February 2004 lists them among the region's historic milk products and notes that they are found at Calabrian markets and fairs and given as gifts on festive occasions.

  1. [pat-sheet] Regione Calabria, Prodotti agro-alimentari tradizionali, sheet F-01 "Animaletti di provola" (scanned form, read from the page images; copy hosted by ONAF)gov
  2. [onaf-sheet] ONAF (Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori Formaggi), technical sheet "Animaletti di provola"web
  3. [calabria-law2004] Regione Calabria, Legge regionale n. 5 del 23-02-2004, Norme per l'individuazione dei prodotti a base di latte e/o tradizionalmente fabbricati (BURC n. 3 of 16 February 2004, suppl. straordinario n. 6), Annex II, 'Animaletti di Provola'spec